


Change is Hard

by Fearfulpixie



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: And titles, Character Death, Hydra (Marvel), I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, Marvel - Freeform, Multi, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, Violence, Weapons, Work In Progress, and summaries, bad words, cursing, fake celestial events, ill try my best, multi-universe theory stuff, possible cursing, possible ooc, strays from canon sometimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2018-10-20 08:55:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10659210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fearfulpixie/pseuds/Fearfulpixie
Summary: Sydney gets sucked into another universe and has to find herself and how to live with the fact she won't ever get home. I suck at summaries, sorry.





	1. Chapter One: What Is Happening?

The Copernican Celestial Alignment, one of the rarest astrological event to ever occur. Last time it happened a lot of people believed God had come to punish us. People went missing, whole cities vanished. It was, to say the least, chaos. However, in current times most people understand it’s nothing special. It just causes tides to rise and weird gravitational anomalies.  
It lasts about 2 hours when it does happen, which was today. Of any possible days it just had to be the hottest, most humid day of all, didn’t it? Everyone was in shorts and tank tops, trying their best to stay cool. Des Moines, Iowa, population of 207,510 people. Not easy to stay cool if you're surrounded by a bunch of people. Some know how to not invade personal space, but most people don’t.  
Everyone was excited about the alignment taking place in a few minutes, gathering at the capitol building. Phones flashed as pictures were taken, the sky getting darker and darker until suddenly a burst of electric blue was in the sky. Then suddenly I felt like my stomach hit the ground and I couldn’t catch my breath.  
Then, I was on the ground in the middle of some field. It was strange, the sky was no longer a brilliant blue but it was a dark purple color, and the Sun was rising, not setting. And it definitely was not summer, it was chilly. The grain around me signalling that it was, most likely, autumn.  
Slowly I got up and started walking towards what I believed to be a road, it sounded like there were cars speeding past. The crickets were chirping, the wind was blowing slightly, the soft sound of my feet crunching the soil below them.  
Every once in a while I would stumble and causing some of the grain to bend and break. Eventually I reached the road, trying to wave someone down. Of course no one helped so I just walked down the road until I came across a small town, nothing bigger than a gas station and convenience store. Plus a couple of houses.  
"Hello?" I said as I walked into the gas station, "is anyone here?"  
"Yep! How may I help you?" a nice looking lady asked, a smile on her face.  
"I was wondering, where am I?" I asked. The lady looked at me curiously.  
"You're on the outskirts of New York City. Are you alright?" she asked, her hand slowly reaching under the counter. I nodded.  
"Uh yeah. How far am I from the city exactly?" I rubbed my arms to keep them semi-warm. The wind had picked up about a half mile back.  
"About thirty, thirty-two miles away. Are you sure you're okay? You look freezing." she inquired.  
"I'm just a bit chilly." I responded.  
"Do you have anyone to call or something?" she asked, I took a few seconds to think. No one knew where I was or if I was okay. But then again, no one would notice.  
"No, not really. I think I'm just gonna head towards the city. Is it east or west?" I wondered aloud.  
"The city is east of here, so the way you were heading. Do you have a car or something? I don't see one parked outside." she stated. I shook my head.  
"No, I'm just going to walk," I told her. I was going to continue but suddenly there were helicopters outside, sounding louder than I had ever imagined.  
"What the hell?" I heard the lady exclaim. I looked at her, just as confused about the helicopters. Suddenly a man in a suit walked out. At first I couldn't believe my eyes as he walked into the little store.  
"Hello, I'm Phil Coulson and I need to speak with one of you." he, Phil, explained. I couldn't say anything. Was I dreaming? Was I being pranked? I didn't know.  
"Sure thing sir. My name is Cheryl, and I own this station. Anything I can help you with?" the lady politely asked.  
"Cheryl, as lovely as you seem, I'm not here to talk with you. I'm here to speak with her." Phil pointed at me. I blinked a few times, still not saying anything.  
"I, uh, um I, uh." Was all I could say. Phil sighed and took a step towards me and I gulped. I didn't think people actually gulped when they were scared, but I did.  
"Come with me please. I think it would be best if we talked somewhere more...private." he held out his hand. I just nodded and followed him to the helicopter. "Now I'm going to assume you've never been in one of these so take the middle seat please!" he shouted over the noise.  
About an hour later we landed in the middle of the ocean, on top the helicarrier. It was so much bigger than I imagined. Currently my stomach felt like what I'd imagine a piece of gum felt like when it gets chewed up. Phil helped me off the helicopter and onto the ship.  
It was weird seeing everyone on the deck working on planes and things. Everything was so real feeling. I never wanted to wake-up from this dream, if it is a dream.  
"So are you going to speak at all?" Phil remarked. I cleared my throat and nodded.  
"Yeah just...just give me a moment. Flying isn't something I've ever done before." I told him. He chuckles. "How did you know where I was?" I asked.  
"Well, when a person just appears in the middle of nowhere and leaves a never seen before organic signature, we tend to keep track of it and find out what it is." Phil tells me. "Now, where are you from?"  
"Uh, Iowa. Des Moines. I was at the capitol watching the Copernican Celestial Alignment when suddenly I woke up in a field of.... something." I told him. He nodded, obviously skeptical.  
"What's the Copernican Celestial Alignment or whatever?" He questioned as he walked me inside.  
"No one is quite sure. It's the first time it happened in centuries. So, of course everyone watched." I told him. He nodded and led me into a conference room.  
"I'll be right back, I need to speak with my supervisor." He told me as he left. I sat down in one of the seats. It was cold in the room but I figured I could deal with it. This dream was really weird.  
Just to be funny I pinched myself, hard. It hurt a lot, which meant that this might not be a dream. I quickly searched the room for something to read, knowing that if it was really not a dream, I'd be able to actually read it. It wouldn't just be jumbled.  
While I was looking around Fury walked in with Phil and Maria Hill. They watched me as I checked the room. Eventually Phil coughed and alerted me to their presence. I turned around wide eyed, like a child who was caught with their hand in the cookie jar.  
"Uh, hi. I was just looking for something to read." I said uneasily. Maria smirked a bit.  
"Agent Coulson tells me you come from Iowa, yet we can't find you in any data base." Fury tells me, getting straight to business. "So, where do you really come from?"  
"Des Moines, Iowa. I swear it on everything." I told him, looking behind him towards the door, which in big bold letters said 'Conference Room in Use'. Which also meant that it wasn't a dream. This was all real.  
"Are you alright? You seem like you need to throw up." Maria spoke up. I nodded and sat back down in a chair.  
"Everything is just hitting me at once. Just, uh, give me a second." I told them. Fury sighed and sat down, putting his hands together and looking straight at me.  
"Alright, how about your name? You have a name don't you?" Fury asked. I nodded. "Would you mind sharing or..."  
"Sydney. My name is Sydney." I told him.  
"Last name?" Phil asked.  
"Do you really need to know?" I ask, obviously somewhere else in my mind.  
"It would be nice." Fury states.  
"When I trust that I won't be left in the middle of nowhere by you I'll tell you." I smirk. Fury frowns.  
"Fine. Sydney, what is it you want?" Fury asks, obviously displeased with my answer. I bite the inner side of my lip and think for a moment.  
"A meeting with Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton." I tell him. Fury looks shocked for a second before his face goes back to stone.  
"Fine, as long as you answer one last question," Fury agrees. I nod. "How do you know about Romanov and Barton?"  
"I know a lot of things about everything. I know about T.A.H.I.T.I. and the Avenger Initiative, not to mention phase two of the tesseract project that Dr. Selvig is working on." I tell him smiling. "Like you said Director, I'm not from here. I'm not even sure how to explain how I know everything I know."  
"So you know everything but you don't know how to explain how you know everything?" Maria asks, an amused tone to her voice.  
"I answered your question, so when do I get to meet with the dynamic duo?" I ask.  
"Give me an hour or two and I'll get them." Fury says as he gets up and walks out, leaving Phil and Maria to babysit.  
"So, you know about the Avengers?" Maria asks as she sits down. I nod. "Then you know who was considered."  
"Tony Stark, who is, by the way, most definitely a narcissistic douche but he usually has good intentions. There's also Captain America, assuming you've found him by now. Natasha and Clint obviously. And Dr. Banner. There may be others but those are the few I know about." I tell them.  
"So you're from Iowa but not from Iowa?"Coulson asks. I shrug.  
"I guess so. You remember me telling you how everyone was watching the Copernican thing?"  
"I believe so." he sat down across from me.  
"Well last time it happened, not the one I watched but the one the ancient astronomers watched, cities were lost, people dissapeared, some people sacrificed themselves and their families. It caused nothing but chaos, so I'm assuming I somehow ended up here." I say, trying to figure it out myself.  
"What do you mean by 'here'" Maria asked.  
"I mean that your Earth isn't mine. That this universe isn't the one that I knew. Where I come from you are all fiction. None of this is actually real. So when I first saw Agent Coulson I thought it was dream-"  
"Which is why you were looking for something to read. In dreams you can't read. Everything is jumbled and doesn't make any sense." Coulson interrupted. I nodded.  
"That's why you know everything." Maria said.  
"Yup. I know just enough to use to my advantage. But of course I won't show my full hand. I just needed to let you know that I know important things," I explained. Coulson chuckled.  
"So that means you know everything that's going to happen?" Maria inquired. I shrugged.  
"Maybe, but I have a feeling that if I tell you the consequences could be drastic. Kinda like the butterfly effect. It's best I keep certain things to myself. Wouldn't want to get someone hurt that shouldn't be." I tell them, smiling slightly.  
"You know it's not going to take long for him to get them here right?" Phil asked. I nodded. "Okay, good."  
"I have a suspicion that they're already on board and they're just watching." I state. Maria nodded.  
"We are." Natasha said as she walked in.  
"Director Fury wants you two to go speak with him." Clint tells Coulson and Maria. They both nod and leave the room. I was now alone with two of the most dangerous people on this ship.  
"So how are you two?" I ask nonchalantly as they sit down.  
"We're good. How about you Sydney?" Natasha asks.  
"I'm currently living a dream. Which probably won't last very long, knowing how my life typically goes," I tell them. Clint shifted in his seat. "Now you two didn't just come here for chit-chat did you?"  
"Nope, Fury wants to know your play. We're here to find out." Clint says. I lean forwards and grin.  
"I don't really have one. I just know that H.Y.D.R.A. and a bunch of other dangerous people are out there and if I want to survive I need to stick with S.H.I.E.L.D. or at the very least, someone who I trust." I yawn.  
"Tired?" Natasha asks. I shrug and start to bounce my leg.  
"A little tired but I'm too excited to sleep. I'm also trying my best not to freak right now." I explain.  
"Why would you freak?" Clint asks. I raise my eyebrows at him.  
"Clint, she landed in the middle of nowhere, on another universe, and was flown to the middle of the ocean by a guy in a suit who, for all she knew, was from a fictional world. I think even you would freak." Natasha tells him. He nods.  
"Probably." He tells her.  
"That and two of my favorite heroes are sitting in front of me, actually talking to me, and they're actually real." I tell him. Clint looks slightly smug hearing that they were two of my favorite heroes.  
"Us? Really?" Natasha asks incredulously. I nod and I could see her smirk slightly. She seemed amused.  
"Especially you Natasha." I tell her. She smiles as she stands up.  
"Well I have a mission to get to and Clint need to go and-"  
"Watch over the tesseract." I finish. She nods. "Well good luck to you both." I tell them as they leave. I'm not quite sure how long I stayed awake for but eventually I ended up falling asleep, dreaming of my old life. The one I never wanted to go back to.


	2. Chapter Two: Dreams End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sydney wakes up to find that everything is 100% real and Fury decides to take her to see the tesseract.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's kinda short. Sorry. Leave thoughts please!

I woke up in an unfamiliar room with a blanket placed on me. I quietly sat up and rubbed my eyes trying to keep myself from laying back down. I climbed off the bed and walked over to the mirror on the wall. I looked like a zombie, the bags under my eyes, my hair was completely messed up and my lips looked chapped.  
"I'm literally a walking nightmare." I murmured. That's when I heard a chuckle from the door. I whipped around and saw Grant Ward standing there.  
"Sorry to interrupt, I was just going to bring you some fresh clothes." He said as he placed down a bundle of what seemed to be sweatpants and a t-shirt.  
"Uh, it's fine Agent Ward." I told him. He looked at me surprised.  
"You really do know a lot don't you?" he said. I nodded.  
"Yup. At least enough to be considered a liability." I smirked.  
"Well the bathroom is a few doors down to the right. You can change in there." Grant tells me.  
"I just have to say Agent Ward, you are a brilliant person."  
"Uh, thanks?" he says. I smile and walk down to the bathroom with my clothes, making double sure to shut and lock the door. I then quickly changed and spent the next few minutes fixing my hair and washing my face. I felt a lot better once I left the bathroom and went back to, what I guess could be called "my" room.  
Someone had left a sticky note on the mirror telling me to get to the control room so I could speak with Fury. I groaned and shoved the yellow paper in my pocket as I went to find someone who knew where the hell it was. You'd think they would've left me a map or directions or something to help find my way.  
Oddly enough I only saw a few people, they were all busy so I didn't really stop them and ask for directions. I didn't want to be rude. So I just wandered about, looking for the stupid control room so I could talk with Fury because he needed to talk with me for some reason. Eventually I found the room.  
"Took you long enough." Fury said. I glared at him.  
"Would've been easier to find if someone had given directions. I know a lot, but I'm really bad with direction." I confessed. He smirked.  
"I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go see the tesseract later. I'm supposed to visit it later, make sure everything is running smoothly." He said. I kept a straight face, although my insides turned into ice.  
"How long do I have to think about it?" I asked.  
"Oh, it wasn't a request actually, it was more like a command." he explained. I frowned.  
"Of course I'll come. Although before we go I think I should probably eat." I tell him. He nods.  
"Go ahead. I had some toast and orange juice brought up a while ago. It should still be fine." He says as he motions to the table. Sure enough when I turn around I see the bread and drink. I sit down as quietly as I can before chowing down on it. I might be a chick but I definitely wasn't a lady.  
After I finished my brunch, I assumed anyways the clocks didn't tell me what time zone we were in, Fury and I got into a helicopter. Two rides in two days? Fun right? Wrong. I felt like throwing up the whole time. Fury however kept grinning at me. I assumed I looked like I was going to puke.  
When we finally landed, after doing some secret sky maneuver and a bunch of codes on the scanner, it was getting dark. Fury had also picked up Coulson and Maria. According to someone on the radio the cube was active. Fury seemed, well, furious. He sped through, barking orders at people and dragging me behind him to see what was going on.  
I was left to stand by myself next to the door while Fury and Selvig talked. Then Barton came down from his perch and, well, Loki showed up. You see, the thing that people don't understand is that Loki is actually terrifying. Terrifying and hot.  
"Sir, please, put down the spear!" Fury ordered. However, Loki decided to shoot the energy at them and attack several agents. I stood there in shock. Loki then got to Clint and used the spear against him, taking control of his mind.  
"Please don't," Loki said as Fury tried to get away with the cube,"I still need that."  
"This doesn't have to get any messier." Fury said as he motioned for me to get out of there, to run away as fast as I could. However I was frozen to the spot. I couldn't move.  
"Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else." Loki spoke, his eyes looking mad with power. "I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose."  
"Loki? Brother of Thor?" Selvig spoke up. I grimaced, already knowing how this would all play out.  
"We have no quarrel with your people." Fury starts.  
"An ant has no quarrel with a boot." Loki responds quickly. Fury's face drops.  
"You're planning to step on us?" Fury scoffs.  
"I come with glad tidings, of a world made free." Loki smiles.  
"Free from what?" Fury inquires.  
"Freedom," Loki says, "freedom is lives great lie. Once you except that, in your heart," he turns around and uses the spear on Selvig, "you will know peace."  
"Yeah, you say peace. I kinda think you mean the other thing." Fury responds. That's when Clint speaks up.  
"Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow." He walked over to Loki, "He means to bury us." Then I found the willpower to move. I ran up the stairs and onto the roof, finding the Helicopter there. A few seconds later we were joined by Fury.  
We watched with wide eyes as the building below us crumbled. I could feel the seething hatred radiating off the director. We found Loki's get away car and Fury started shooting at it. I knew this part. If I wanted to survive, I'd have to jump. God damn it. Then I saw Loki aiming and I jumped as I pushed Fury out of the helicopter. After we landed Fury kept shooting at Clint and them.  
"Director? Director do you copy?" Phil said over the walkies.  
"The tesseract is with a hostile force, I have men down. Hill?" He asked.  
"A lot of men still under. Don't know how many survivors." She responded.  
"Sound the general call. I want whatever men not working rescue looking for that damn briefcase" Fury ordered.  
"Roger that." Hill said.  
"Coulson get back to base. This is a level 7. As of right now, we are at war." Fury finished telling them.  
"What do we do?" Phil asked, an edge to his voice.  
Fury said nothing and just stared after the trail Loki left behind. He turned to me and helped me up off the ground. He sighed as he looked back at the helicopter which was now in flames.  
"I'm sorry." I told him. He nodded.  
"You knew didn't you?" he asked. I nodded.  
"But even if I told you it wouldn't change anything. Most likely would've made it even worse." I confessed.  
"I understand. People have to keep secrets for the greater good. I get it." He says, "What I don't get is why you froze. You knew what was gonna happen obviously, but you froze."  
"I'm not like you, Director. I'm an average person where I come from." I start. "Fear has different effects on people. And Loki? Loki is terrifying. But he's terrifying because he's relatable. You can understand his actions, and in the right circumstances you just might follow in a similar way." That's when I started to feel a bit dizzy and I sat on the ground.  
"You're bleeding." Fury said as I sat. I just nodded and didn't really say anything."Sydney? Are you with me?"  
"I think so." I mumbled.  
"How are you feeling?" Fury asked as he knelt in front of me.  
"Dizzy and floaty?" I told him, trying to keep my eyes open.  
"Did you hit your head?" He asked.  
"I think so. I think I hit it on the helicopter when I jumped maybe." I told him.  
"Just stay awake okay?"  
"But I'm so tired." I whined.  
"Too bad. You need to stay awake until we get you to a doctor." he ordered. I nodded and tried my best. A few minutes later and I passed out. Last thing I heard was a car pulling up nearby.


	3. Chapter Three: What to do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sydney wakes up and things start happening.

I woke up in "my" room with a lot of pillows. From the raging headache I had I assumed that I had, at the very least, a concussion. I slowly sat up to see Maria standing in the doorway.  
"You're awake, good. Follow me to the control room. Fury wants to debrief you on the Avengers." She said. I swung my feet onto the floor and stood up..too fast. I almost fell back onto the bed. "Careful, you have a minor concussion, several bruises and a broken metacarpal."  
"Sorry, I wasn't thinking." I said as I got up slower, hissing as I put weight on my feet. "I feel the bruises, I'm a bit sore."  
"Let me guess, first time jumping out of a helicopter?" Maria asks. I nod.  
"Of course it fucking is. I'm not one who things happen to very much. I'm pretty much a 'normal' person." I told her. She nodded as we walked to the control room. "That and I'm not, Captain America or anything."  
"Speaking of the Captain, he's in the control room," Maria says as she pushes open the doors to reveal the super soldier in all his glory. He was talking with Coulson.  
"I mean, if it's not too much trouble." Couslon added, obviously talking about the Captain America trading cards.  
"No, no. It's fine." Steve says.   
"It's a vintage set. Took me a couple years to collect them all." Coulson boasted. "Near mint. Slight foxing around the edges but-"  
"Got a hit. 67% match." one of the techs said. "Wait, cross match 79%"  
"Location?" Coulson asked. I answered before the tech.  
"Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Konigstrasse." I tell everyone.   
"He's not exactly hiding." The tech said.   
"Captain," Fury barked, "you're up." Steve nodded and went to go suit up. I was left to talk with Fury. Fury turned towards me.  
"You wanted to talk to me or something?" I asked him.   
"Actually I wanted to see how you were doing." Fury told me, gesturing towards the chairs. I sat down. "And I wanted to know what you knew about the Avengers."  
"I know that they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Some worse than others, but they all have good intentions." I conclude. He nods.  
"So it works out." Fury states.  
"Somewhat." I tell him. "However I am not going to say anything else. Tell me when Loki gets here. I'd love to see you threaten him."  
"Of course. But until then I want Coulson to show you some basic moves. If you want to stay here you need to be able to protect yourself from an average person, at the very least." Fury tells me while motioning Coulson over.   
"I can try my best I guess." I say, an uneasy smile crossing my face and as I followed Coulson to the, I guess you could call it a gym, room and we just looked around for a few minutes, not saying anything. It was awkward to say the least.  
"So..." Coulson said.  
"Yeah. What exactly are you supposed to be teaching me?" I asked. He shrugged.  
"I assume the basics but you have a concussion so I'm not sure this is a good idea. And you can't punch anything with your broken hand. Kicking though might be something we could work on right now." Coulson explains.  
"Might as well. I already have enough bruises and shit, why not add on?" I say sarcastically.  
"See? That's the spirit." Coulson responds. "How about we just work on knees?"  
"Sure. It's nothing new to learn." I told him. He raised a questioning eyebrow.   
"Really? You know self-defense? You, the girl who got a concussion from jumping, knows self-defense?" Coulson asks incrediously. I frowned.  
"Of course I do. Even in my universe girls would get snatched." I remarked. He nodded.   
We trained for about half an hour before Coulson was called away and I was led to the control room. Everyone was sitting or standing near the table. Thor was obviously thinking how to best handle the situation, Bruce was watching the live feed of Fury and Loki's little pissing contest, as was most of the others. Tony had yet to show up.  
"He really grows on you doesn't he?" Bruce said, trying to be funny.  
"Loki's going to drag this out," Steve sighed, "so, Thor. What's his play?"  
"He has an army-" Thor started before I interrupted.  
"They're called the Chitari. They're not from Asgard or any world known." I told them. Thor nodded.  
"He means to lead them against your people and they will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, the tesseract." Thor finishes.  
"An army, from outer space." Steve said, definitely in shock.  
"So he means to open another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for." Bruce realizes. Thor perks up.  
"Selvig?" He asks, making sure he heard Bruce right.  
"He's an astrophysicist." Bruce states.  
"He's a friend." Thor shifts uneasily.  
"Loki has him under some kind of spell. Along with one of ours." Natasha says, glaring at me. I shift.  
"What I want to know is why Loki let us take him. He's obviously not leading an army from here." Steve asks.  
"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Bruce says," that guy's brain is a bag of cats. You can smell the crazy coming off of him."  
"Have care how you speak." Thor says defensively, "Loki may be beyond reason but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother."  
"He killed 80 people in two days." Natasha tells him.  
"He's adopted." Thor tells them. Natasha smirks.  
"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium, what do they need the iridium for?" Bruce asks. i respond quickly before Tony could, having just walked in.  
"It's a stabilizing agent." I tell everyone. "Means the portal won't collapse on itself like before. It also means the portal can open as wide, and stay as open as long as Loki wants." Tony smiles at me as he walks past.  
"That man is playing Galaga!" Tony pointed out, "He thought we wouldn't notice but we did." he covered his left eye," How does Fury even see these?" he asks Maria.  
"He turns." She tells him, her voice monotone.  
"Sounds exhausting." He tells her, touching the monitors. "The rest of the raw materials Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he needs is a power source of high energy density. Something to," he snaps his fingers together, "kick-start the cube."  
"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria asked him. I answered for him.  
"He did it last night. He read the packet, you know, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers? I honestly hope he wasn't the only one to do the homework." I say.  
"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asks, not caring about Tony showing off, or me for that matter.  
"He'd have to heat the cube to 120 million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Bruce explains.  
"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect." Tony says.  
"Well if he could do that he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet." Bruce tells everyone. Tony grins.  
"Finally, someone who speaks English!" Tony exclaims.   
"Is that what just happened?" Steve asks, very confused.  
"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster." Tony expressed.  
"Thanks." Bruce replied uneasily.  
"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you would help him." Fury says as he walks in.  
"I'd start with that stick of his. It may be magical but it works an awful lot like a H.Y.D.R.A. weapon." Steve explains.  
"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his own personal flying monkeys." Fury declared.  
"Monkeys? I do not understand." Thor questioned. Steve sat up excited.  
"I do." He said happily, "I understood that reference."  
"Shall we play doctor?" Tony turned to Bruce.  
"This way sir." Bruce told him, walking towards the lab. Steve followed them soon after. I watched as Coulson and Thor started talking and as Fury spoke with Natasha, most likely asking her to find out Loki's game plan. I followed her as she walked out.  
"You realize I'm a spy right? I know you're following me." She says.  
"I know, and I also know you're pissed with me, but you need to understand I did what I had to do to protect everyone else." I pleaded. Natasha whipped around.  
"You let him lose his freedom, lose his control over himself. You call that protecting people?" She accuses.   
"Yes. Because if I had told you, or Fury then it could've been you that lost your freedom, and I don't want that to happen to you again. No one deserves it, especially you. So I made a choice, and I know the consequences." I retort, "And if I had to do it all over again I would do the same thing, because if Loki had gotten you, then everyone would definitely be screwed. Including Laura and the kids."  
"Go find the lab Sydney, I have work to do." She sneers. I nod and take a step back.  
"I know, and I'm sorry. I'm never going to be able to apologize enough." I tell her as I walk away to find the lab. Hopefully they haven't found out about Phase 2 yet. That's when things were going to pick up speed. And when I get to make a hard decision, save Coulson or let Loki kill him. I wasn't sure what to do.


	4. Chapter Four: The Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sydney makes a decision, and things get interesting.

I walked into the lab, half expecting everyone to already be yelling at one another. In all actuality it was still semi-calm. Tony was bragging about the program he had JARVIS running and Bruce was working on finding the cube. And then, just a few seconds later, Fury walked in.  
"What are you doing Mr. Stark?" He questioned.  
"Uh, kinda been wondering the same thing about you." Tony retorted.  
"You're supposed to be working on locating the tesseract." Fury asserted.  
"We are. The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now." Bruce stated calmly. "When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."  
"Yeah and you'll get your cube back. No muss, no fuss. What is 'Phase 2'?" Tony asks as it pops up on the screen. I shifted uneasily as Steve slammed a weapon down on the table.  
"Phase 2 is S.H.I.E.L.D. uses the cube to make weapons. Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me." Steve announces.  
"Rodgers, we gathered everything related to the tesseract. This does not mean that we're making-" Fury starts.  
"No, he's right. You're making weapons out of the energy from the cube." I pipe up.   
"Sydney, we're doing no such-"  
"Sorry, Nick. What were you lying?" Tony asked, spinning the monitor around.  
"I was wrong Director, the world hasn't changed a bit." Steve said.  
"Did you know about this?" Bruce asked Natasha.  
"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment Doctor?" Natasha asks, ignoring his question.  
"I was in Calcutta," Bruce scoffs. "I was pretty well removed."  
"Loki is manipulating you," Natasha said as she walked towards him.  
"And you've been doing what exactly?" Bruce asks.  
"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you." She explained.  
"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I would like to know," he moved towards the monitor, "why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."  
"Because of him," Fury points at Thor, a lot like a little kid tattling on their older sibling.  
"Me?" Thor asks, taken aback.  
"Last year Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned." Fury reasoned.  
"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor confirms.  
"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Fury fires back. "And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people that can't be matched, that can't be controlled."  
"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve retorts.  
"Your work with the tesseract is what drew Loki, and his allies, to it. It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form a war." Thor exclaims.  
"A higher form?" Steve questions.  
"You forced our hand. We had to come up with something-" Fury started.  
"A nuclear deterrent. Because that always calms everything right down." Tony says.  
"Remind me how you made your fortune, Stark." Fury insults.  
"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck-deep-" Steve started to agree.  
"Wait, wait. Hold on. How did this somehow become about me?" Tony asked.  
"I'm sorry, isn't everything?" Steve responds. That's when everyone started talking at once. That's when I heard the scepter start to hum, and I could feel how irritated I had suddenly gotten. I decided to take a few steps away from everyone.  
That's when Bruce grabbed the scepter and everyone tensed, everyone but me. The poor Doc didn't even realize he grabbed it. Luckily he put it down when one of the computers beeped. And that also meant the turbine went down and the chaos began. When everyone else went down, so did I.   
I quickly scrambled up and tried my best to find Coulson before he could get to the armory. Sadly I didn't make it. So instead I went to find the cell. I got there just as Coulson did. Now was my chance to save him, my chance to change everything, my chance to make things worse.  
I couldn't do it. So I just stood outside the door and watched. I watched as Loki stabbed him. I watched as Thor was cast-away by his own brother. I watched as Coulson drowned in his own blood, as the light left his eyes. I watched as Fury mourned his friend. And then I just walked away, went to find the training room.   
As soon as I walked in, it was like something snapped. I let out all my anger by punching and kicking almost everything in the room. I kept going until I felt like I was going to puke. And then I broke down, a wave of emotions hitting me at once. I felt like all of my breath had been taken, that I was a window shattering into pieces.  
I eventually found the strength to get up from my current corner of guilt and go to find Tony and Steve. I found them where the cage was. Tony and Steve were talking about Coulson. I just leaned against the metal door frame, too afraid to enter.  
"Was he married?" Steve asked.  
"No." Tony said, "There was a cellist, I think."  
"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man." Steve said.  
"He was an idiot." Tony scoffed.  
"Why?" Steve asked. "For believing?"  
"For taking on Loki alone." Tony shrugs.  
"He was doing his job." Steve explained.  
"He was out of his league. He should've waited. He should've..." Tony trailed off.  
"Sometimes there isn't a way out Tony." Steve tried.  
"Right. I've heard that before." Tony said, glancing at me. I shifted and looked down.  
"Is this the first time you've lost a solider?" Steve asks. Tony turns on his heels.  
"We are not soldiers!" Tony shouted. He paused and took a breath. "I am not marching to Fury's fife."  
"Neither am I." Steve tells him. "He's got the blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now we got to put that behind us and get this done. Now, Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list-"  
"He made it personal." Tony says.  
"That's not the point." Steve sighs.  
"But that's exactly the point." I tell them, my voice hoarse from all the sobbing and screaming. "It's Loki's point."  
"He hit us right where we all live, why?" Tony asked Steve.  
"To tear us apart." Steve answered.  
"Yeah, divide and conquer is but, he knows he has to take us out to win right?" Tony asks rhetorically. "That's what he wants. He wants to beat us and be seen doing it. He wants an audience."  
"Right. I caught his act in Stuttgart." Steve said, finally getting it.  
"Yeah. That's just previews. This is opening night." Tony explains, starting to piece everything together. "And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades. He wants a monument built in the sky with his name plastered...son of a bitch."  
"Stark Tower." I tell Steve since he still looks confused. He nods as Tony rushes past me. Steve walks over to me.  
"Are you alright?" Steve asks.   
"I knew it was going to happen. I knew Phil was going to...and I was going to try and stop it but when I got here, and I saw everything happening. I couldn't get myself to move, I couldn't help him. I couldn't stop everything from happening." I confessed. "So I just watched. I watched Loki kill him. I watched him die."  
"Sydney, it's not your fault." Steve tried to reason. I looked him in the eyes.  
"Then why do I feel so guilty?" I asked. He sighed and couldn't answer. After a few moments and I stood up straight. "Can I come with?"  
"What? No, Sydney you don't have enough training and I don't think you're mentally prepared." Steve said.   
"Steven Grant Rogers, if I don't go, then neither do you. Tell me, what would Peggy think of you denying someone who may not have the same training and strength, who probably looks like they can't do much, who is a lot like how you used to be. I think she'd find it a bit hypocritical, don't you?" I ask, tilting my head slightly. Steve mulls it over quickly before nodding.  
"Fine, but you only help keep the civilians safe. No combat if you can avoid it alright?" Steve ordered. I nodded.  
"Course. Now time for you to suit up. Me? I don't have a suit so I'm going to slide on a jacket and find a small weapon that I can handle and I'll meet you and Natasha in the med-bay." I tell him as I jog away to find a pocket knife. Oddly enough I couldn't find one. However I did find a dagger, so I took that instead and went to meet with Natasha.  
"Can you fly one of those jets?" Steve asked Natasha. Clint then opened the door to the restroom and walked out.  
"I can." Clint said. Natasha nodded towards Steve, confirming that it was okay.  
"You got a suit?" Steve asked. Clint nodded. "Then suit up." Steve ordered and walked off. I followed closely behind. We all quickly found ourselves about a jet.  
"Hey you guys aren't authorized to be here." The agent said.  
"Son, just don't." Steve told him. The agent just looked at him confused and walked away. Clint quickly took the controls and we were off. Natasha turned towards me in her seat and I looked away.  
"Sydney?" Natasha called. I looked up at her.  
"Yeah?" I responded, not quite sure what to do or say.  
"I'm sorry. About before. I get it now." Natasha says.   
"Thanks, but um, I don't think I really deserve an apology." I tell her. She looks at me confused. "Don't worry about it, I can deal later."  
"Alright I guess." Natasha says, turning back around. About ten minutes later we made our crash landing and ran out of the jet.  
"We need to get back up there!" Steve said. I looked up, and that was when we saw the Leviathan. "Stark you seeing this?"  
"Seeing. Still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?" Tony asked, changing the subject swiftly.  
"Banner?" Steve asked.  
"Just keep me posted." Tony told him. He cut out after that, looking for a soft spot in the Leviathan. Steve, Natasha, Clint and I ran through the streets.  
"We've got civilians still trapped up here." Clint said to Steve. Suddenly Loki zoomed pass.  
"Loki!" Steve shouted. We all watched as things blew up. "They're fish in a barrel down there."  
"We got this. It's good. Go." Natasha told Steve and I. After Steve double checked with Clint he jumped off the bridge onto the bus, the Chitari fired after him. I went another route, that involved telling people to get as far as they could, and help whoever they could along the way. I eventually caught up with Steve.  
We ended up doubling back around to help Clint and Natasha. The Chitari had them mostly surrounded. With Thor's help, they didn't last very long.  
"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked Thor.  
"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable." Thor tells him.  
"Thor's right. We got to deal with these guys." Tony said.  
"How do we do this?" Natasha asks.  
"As a team." Steve responded.  
"I have unfinished business with Loki." Thor told him.  
"Yeah? Well get in line." Clint told the Asgardian.  
"Save it. Loki's going to keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need." Steve explained.  
"Without him the Chitari could run wild." I told everyone.  
"We got Stark up top. He's gonna need us to-" Steve was cut off by the sound of a motorcycle. I grinned when I saw Bruce. We all walked to him.  
"So, this all seems horrible." He stated.  
"I've seen worse." Natasha told him.  
"Sorry." Bruce said, glancing down.  
"No, no. We could use a little worse." She reiterated.  
"Stark, we got him." Steve said over coms.  
"Banner?" Tony asked.  
"Just like you said." Steve told him.  
"Tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you." Tony said, the leviathan following behind him.   
"Shit." I whispered.  
"I-I don't see how that's a party." Natasha said to no one in particular.  
"Dr. Banner," Steve started. "now might be a really good time for you to get angry."  
"That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry." Bruce says as he turns towards the giant monster and became the Hulk. It was strange seeing it actually happen. The Hulk punched the leviathan and sent it flying towards all of us. Tony shooting it didn't exactly help either. Clint pulled me behind the car with him so we could take cover.  
"Guys." Natasha warns.  
"Alright Cap, call it." Tony said.  
"Listen up, until we can close that portal, our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof. Eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out you turn it back or you turn it to ash." Steve commands.   
"Can you give me a lift?" Clint asked Tony.  
"Right." Tony nodded, "Better clench up Legolas."  
"Thor, you got to try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You got the lightning, light the bastards up." Steve declared, "Us three stay here on the ground. We keep the fighting here. And Hulk, smash."  
The Hulk smiled and took off, attacking the aliens. Thor went to the top of the Chrysler building and starting with his hammer. Natasha, Steve and I all started making our way through the city and helping people get to safety.  
"Stark, got a lot of strays on your tail." Clint pointed out.  
"I'm just trying to keep them off the streets." Tony responded.  
"Well they can't bank worth a damn." Clint says. "So find a tight corner."  
"I will roger that." Tony says. "Nice call. Any other ideas?"  
"Well Thor's taking on a squadron down on 6th." Clint says.  
"And he didn't invite me?" Tony asked. What no one had noticed was me at Stark Tower, quietly making my way up the stairs. I was almost on the top floor. I finally reached the floor and slowly walked over to the scepter. And then the Hulk busted through and took Loki in with him.  
"Enough!" Loki shouted. "You are all beneath me! I am a God you dull creature. And I will not be bullied by-" The Hulk picked him up and slammed him over and over again, leaving him in pain on the floor.  
"Puny God." Hulk said as he walked away.  
I picked up the scepter and looked up towards Natasha and Selvig. I then ran up the rest of the stairs and to them.  
"I can close it. Does anybody hear me?" Natasha said into the coms.  
"Do it!" Steve shouted.  
"No, wait!" Tony and I both said at the same time.  
"Stark, Sydney, these things are still coming." Steve pleaded.  
"I got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it." Tony says.  
"Stark, you know that's a one way trip right?" Steve asked.  
"Save the rest for the turn, J." Tony said. We all watched as he zoomed into the portal.  
"Come on Stark." Natasha whispered. I didn't say anything. I knew what was going to happen, but I was still worried.   
"Close it." Steve said sadly. We all watched as Tony fell out of the portal at the last second. "Son of a gun."  
"He's not slowing down!" Thor noticed, getting ready to catch him. Then the Hulk came out of nowhere, catching Tony and placing him gently on the ground. A few moments later, after Hulk yelled, Tony woke up. And, well, we all had a happy reunion in the Stark tower, pointing weapons at Loki and capturing him for good. Of course, nothing is as it seemed.   
Just because everything seemed alright it didn't mean that people weren't watching. Weren't waiting. It doesn't mean that your safe, even if you feel that way. I should know. I'm in the Marvel universe. Nothing was ever as it seemed. And it never would be.


	5. Chapter Five: Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically the aftermath of the battle of new york, nothing special.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to upload, I had slight writers block and I am really sick right now. Anyways, without further a do.

I must've fallen asleep sometime after we ate shwarma. The only reason I could deduce I was asleep was because I was dreaming. Not dreaming really, more like remembering something from my old life. Something from high school.  
It was nothing big, just a high school play being put on by us in the theatre department. The play was written by one of my friends. It was about a kid that got stranded on an island, no way to get back home, no hope or chance for survival. The play was deep and dark. A lot of people cried.  
I played one of the main character's friends in the flashbacks. My character didn't have many lines but she had a really powerful monologue in the middle of it. It was about how the kid thought, just because he knew all the test answers and had straight A's, that he was smarter than everyone at the school. My character basically told him that book smarts could only get him so far, that street smarts were needed in order to be truly successful. The kid died by the end of the play. My character had been right.  
However, in the dream I was talking to myself. Telling myself to watch my back and think smarter, not harder. I woke up in the tower, Tony probably lending me a room for the time being since I technically had no where else to be. It was strange, actually being in the tower. The one everyone wants to be in.  
I decided to get up and walk around. I hadn't really paid attention to where everything was when I first ran through the building, searching for Loki and the scepter, and I was curious as to where the restroom was. I hadn't gone all day and I really needed to go. After a few minutes of wandering about I remembered J.A.R.V.I.S. was around, I could just ask him.  
"Hey, uh, J.A.R.V.I.S. where is the bathroom?" I called out to the A.I.  
"The restroom is two more doors down and to your right, Miss Sydney." He responded.  
"Thanks." I said as I jogged to the bathroom.  
"No problem at all." J.A.R.V.I.S. replied, going quiet once more. I quickly went to the bathroom and washed up. I took one look at myself in the mirror and sighed. I was covered in dirt and a few specks of blood. My hair looked like a rat's nest too.  
I walked out of the bathroom and went to find Tony, who would no doubt be drinking or asleep. I found him in the living room, drinking a glass of whiskey. He was reading what seemed to be a newspaper.  
"Morning sunshine." Tony said, putting the paper down and looking at me.   
"What time is it?" I asked. Tony checked his watch.  
"Around noon." He answered. "Why?"  
"Just wanted to know. Do you mind if I take a quick shower? I look like shit." I told him as I picked up the newspaper. The headline was about the Avengers.  
"Go ahead, I'll tell Natasha to find you some clean clothes before she gets here." he places his drink down and stands up. "We're going to go say bye to Thor and Loki soon though, so might want to be quick."  
"Sure thing, Tin Man." I say as I walk back to the bathroom.   
"Not made of tin!" Tony yells back. I just chuckle as I turn the water on in the shower.  
The shower was amazing. Not to mention how nice it was to get all the crud and stuff off of me and actually feel clean for once since I had been here. i heard the door to the bathroom ope as I turned off the shower.  
"Just dropping off some clothes." Natasha says. "Nothing fancy, just some jeans and a shirt."  
"Alright, thanks Natasha," I say. I hear her start to go before she stops.  
"Why did you say you didn't deserve it?" Natasha asks, referring to our conversation on the jet. I froze. "Sydney?"  
"Because I don't." I whisper. "I don't deserve an apology or forgiveness or anything. I just don't."  
"Why? Because of Phil? Because you didn't save him?" Natasha asks. "Because, if that's your reasoning, you're wrong. It was going to happen, with or without your help. The team needed something to push us, we needed something personal to happen. Yes it's horrible but it was also necessary."  
"Doesn't make me feel any less shitty." I tell her.  
"Just don't let it eat you up inside Sydney. You're no good to anyone if you're dead." She says as she leaves. I sigh and change into the clothes, the shirt slightly baggy but not too much. I dry my hair and give it a quick comb-through before walking out to the living room.   
"Ready to go?" Tony asks. I nod.  
"Let's go watch them leave," I tell him. We take the elevator down to the garage, getting into a very nice car. We drove to the, let's call it a meeting point, and we got out and everyone said their goodbyes to Thor. I, however, also said goodbye to Loki.   
Then they left and everyone went their own ways. Bruce and Tony went back to the tower, Steve went I'm not sure where, and Natasha and Clint went back to S.H.I.E.L.D. leaving me to my own devices. It was okay though, I liked being alone, gave me less of a headache. It also meant I could explore, I hadn't had time to actually look around.   
I wandered aimlessly through New York, not really looking for anything in particular. That's when I came across some of the destruction from the battle, a crumbling building, fire fighters looking for bodies and removing the rubble. That's when it hit me, for the first time since I had gotten here, I was stranded. I was stuck in a world that I didn't belong in, that I knew snippets about. I didn't know how the people here did business or whatever.  
I didn't know how this world works, what could be different here than from my own world, besides the obvious. I didn't know anything compared to what everyone else in this world knows. I was the kid stranded on the island, the one who died because he relied to heavily on books and didn't bother listening to his friend because he thought he was so smart.  
I decided to go back to the tower, mostly due to the fact it is the easiest place for me to get to, and the most obvious place to go. I ran past plenty of people on my way there, not wanting to be alone for a moment longer, and all the people did was make me feel small. Make me feel like I was a kid and they were all giants, judging me.  
I finally made it to the tower and I found the doors. Luckily they were open. J.A.R.V.I.S. let me into the elevator and helped me find Tony and Bruce, they were in the lab geeking out over something I didn't understand. i leaned in the doorway, waiting for them to stop rapid-firing their science talk at each other.  
"..so you understand now?" Tony asks Bruce. Bruce looks up to see me in the doorway.  
"Oh, hey Sydney." Bruce says kindly.   
"Hello you two," I spoke, "What are you two being nerds about?"  
"You." Tony says casually.  
"Me?" I ask, very confused.  
"Well, your blood to be more precise." Bruce says. "You seem to have different markers and a different blood type than any we have in our universe. That and your DNA seems to be changing the longer you're here. Like it's trying to adapt."  
"So what you're trying to tell me is that, the longer I'm in this universe the more I'm going to change?" I try to clarify.  
"Something like that. It's kinda like-"  
"Bobcats." I say, remembering a few things from middle school. "Like bobcats from where I'm from. They weren't in Iowa for a long time but when I was in middle school they had come back, because they adapted to the warmer temperature."  
"Pretty much." Tony said, a little upset that I interrupted him.  
"How much has my DNA changed?" I asked. Tony shrugs.  
"We aren't sure. We don't have a sample of your blood when you first got here." Tony explains.  
"Yeah, how did you get my blood by the way?" I inquire.  
"S.H.I.E.L.D. had a few viles, probably taken when you were sleeping." Bruce said. I nod.  
"Of course. And you two just happened to grab one?" I ask.   
"Actually Fury wanted us to check it out. His scientists did but he wanted an outside opinion so.."  
"Okay then." I breathe, "Wait, is there any chance I could get, oh I don't know, abilities?" I ask, hopeful. Bruce chuckles.  
"Very slight. And even then, unless you found a way to enhance them they probably wouldn't ever appear." Bruce told me. I frowned.  
"Well, it depends on how much your DNA changes actually." Tony reminds Bruce. "It still hasn't stopped, and it might not for a while, so who knows what's going to happen? Besides, we've never dealt with blood from another universe before, so you might have a predisposition to having abilities or might even mutate in ways we can't predict."  
"But it's only a slight possibility from what we know." Bruce states. I nod.  
"Okay then. Do you mind if I stay here for a while Tony? I don't exactly have anywhere to go..." I asks.  
"Why not, besides I might need more blood samples." Tony tells me.  
"Thanks." I say, turning to find the kitchen.  
"Tomorrow though I am taking you shopping. You need clothes and i am not lending you any of mine." Tony jokes. I roll my eyes.  
"Alright. Thanks Tony." I tell him, walking into the elevator and going to the floor marked 'kitchen'. I walked out of the metal box and into the sleek room called the kitchen. The walk-in pantry was incredibly long, and the amount of food was enough to feed all of Thor's friends, plus the Avengers. I grabbed a granola bar and walked out, sitting down at the table.  
I finished my bar and looked around in amazement. I was sitting in the middle of Tony Stark's kitchen, eating his food, and I'm going shopping with him tomorrow. Life couldn't get much better than this.  
Outside however, there was someone lurking in the shadows, watching every move I made, every breath I took, and they don't have any good intentions what-so-ever.


	6. Chapter Six: The Bus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of a filler i guess, helping to set up for what I'm thinking of.

It had been 4 months and 17 days since I first showed up in this universe, the marvel universe. And in those few months I've seen and done things I never thought I'd be able to do before. I jumped out of a helicopter, I met Loki, and Thor, and all the Avengers. Hell, I even became friends with them.  
However, in the time I've been here something has been happening to me, or to my DNA more specifically. It's been changing, or adapting, however you want to put it. It changes a little bit more each day, and I learn more about this different Earth each day.  
Tony helps some, most of the stuff he says is to mess with me but it all has a bit of truth to it. Bruce even helped where he could.  
Today was an amazing day, or at least it started that way. You see, Tony and I became great friends. I understand all of his nightmares and I know how to listen.  
And then Fury decided to drop in while I was taking my daily stroll through the city. And by dropping in I mean he pulled up in a S.H.I.E.L.D. car, ordered me to get in, and then we drove off to an undisclosed location.  
Of course, that's when everything went down hill. I saw the Bus. As in Phil Coulson's plane. I physically felt both excited because Phil was alive, and terrified because, well, he was alive and I couldn't save him.  
"You coming or what?" Fury asked. I nodded and followed him to the Bus, god it was even more impressive in person. The cargo door was down so we just walked in. Phil was waiting for us at the top of the stairs.  
"Took you two long enough," Coulson said walking down the steps. "I actually thought you might have bailed."  
"Sydney, breathe." Fury said.  
"Sorry, I just didn't think I'd ever be on the Bus. It's actually the Bus." I gawked.  
"Impressive isn't it?" Phil boasted. "Director Fury lent it to me after I finished recovering. I also got a team, which I want you to be part of. At least for a bit, mostly so there is someone who can help everyone know what it is to be normal."  
"So I'm here to be a normal person and give advice?" I inquire.  
"That and it'll be easier to protect if you're with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents." Fury tells me. I nod.  
"Alright, I'll do it. But I need to tell Tony and get some clothes and-"  
"We already spoke to Mr. Stark and have brought your clothes and everything you need." Fury explained.  
"Does that include my stuffed bear?" I ask. Fury nods. "Oh thank god! I love that bear so much, I can hardly sleep without it any more."  
"Anyways, the team is waiting to meet you and we just had an extra bunk added too," Phil mentioned.   
"I'm off Agent Coulson, Sydney." Director Fury said as he walked out of the plane and back towards his car. Phil and I stared at each other for a few seconds.  
"So the team?" I ask. Phil blinks a couple of times.  
"Right, the team. They're waiting upstairs. Let's go before they send someone out after us." Phil says as he walks up the stairs with me following close behind. The Bus, for as big as it is, is surprisingly easy to navigate.   
"Team, this is Sydney. She's a friend. Sydney this is the team. I'm assuming you know who everyone is?" Phil questions.  
"Of course I do. Melinda May, Grant Ward, Skye, Leopold Fitz and Jemma Simmons. Two agents, an ex-hacktivist, and two of the brightest scientists to ever exist." I say, proving my point. Everyone looks shocked, except for Phil and Ward of course. They already knew.  
"How do you-" Skye starts.  
"To put it simply? I'm from a different universe. I know, I know, completely insane right? Well as it turns out, it's true. Your universe however is so much better. First off, you have Captain America, who has the greatest ass anyone has ever seen. Secondly, you also have May. Like seriously, she is bad-ass. And I could keep going but I might not stop if I do so I'm going to shut up," I spill.  
"A different universe? What was it like?" Simmons asked, practically jumping with joy.  
"You know, it's funny. I think you're the first person to ask what my universe was like. And you know what's funnier? I've never even thought about telling anyone anything about it. Not even the little differences, like here your blood types are different and so are your presidents," I tell them. "My universe was lost. Everyone felt like we were alone in the big scary abyss, so we created other places in books and movies and things like that."   
"Everyone feels lost." May says.  
"Not like that. Not scared that, in the infinity that is space, that there was nothing. That we were the only ones. No god or magical higher being. Just alone, lost, like we were meant to be somewhere else. Like we were left behind, rejected." I explain. Everyone went quiet. "But here? Here you have other worlds, other people from the worlds. In my universe we had each other, and all that did was separate us even farther."  
"That sounds terrible," Fitz mumbled.  
"It was life. Never knew much different." I shrug. "Anyways, where's my bunk?"  
"You're between May and Ward," Coulson tells me, gesturing for me to follow him. "I'm assuming that you're not telling us everything."  
"Course not. You know I can't," I retort.  
"So, about Mr. Stark's work on your-"  
"Can we not discuss this in front of everyone? I do like some mystery." I say as I walked into my bunk.  
"I'm just concerned that you feel, well, alone. That's all. And I wanted to make sure that all was well. No surprises or anything." Phil hinted. I shook my head.  
"Sadly, no. But I change more and more each day. Guess we'll find out together." I respond, grabbing my teddy bear and sitting on the bed.  
"Does he have a name?" Phil asked.  
"The bear?"  
"No the freckle on your knee. Of course the bear." Phil replied, making me chuckle.  
"Uh, yeah his name is Bobert the 7th. He's the best and he keeps the monsters away." I joke.  
"Bobert?"  
"Bob for short. He hates Bobby though. But he loves mashed potatoes." I explain, completely stone-faced.  
"Potatoes?" Phil questioned. I nodded. "Let me guess, he wants some for dinner soon?"   
"Of course!" I grin, "Potatoes are the best meal in the world."  
"They aren't a meal."  
"Can be." I state.  
"Nope." Phil says as he leaves me to get situated.  
"Yes!" I shout as he just walks out of eye-sight. God this was going to be interesting. I held Bobert tightly and yawned as I laid back on the bed and closed my eyes.


	7. Chapter Seven: The Bridge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don't go exactly as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me forever to upload, I accidentally forgot to save my writing and it all got deleted. So I had to rewrite....twice. Whoops.

I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door.  
"Time to get up! We have a mission." Fitz says from the other side of the door.  
"On my way," I mumble. I quietly hide Bobert under my blankets and walk out of the bunk, following behind Fitz We walked to the Command Center where everyone else was.  
"At 08-00 hours, three men infiltrated the Havenworth federal penitentiary." Coulson started.  
"Infiltrated?" Skye scoffed, "More like cannon-balled."  
"They were in and out in less than two minutes. Left no prints at the scene, but we do have one lead." He waves his hand over the holocom, bringing up another image.  
"Centipede." Ward states.   
"It seems they salvaged some of their research from Hong Kong." Coulson sighed.  
"So we were right. Chan's platelets solved their combustion problem. Now they can create super soldiers with no fear of explosion." Simmons said happily. Fitz whispered something and she frowned.  
"Two of Centipede's labs have been destroyed but they keep popping back up. Now they have at least three of these guys, maybe more." Coulson continues.  
"Who did they break out?" May asked.  
"Edison Po, former Marine, expert in tactics and rapid response." I answered, running my hand through my hair. "He fell off the grid in '08, reappeared 18 months ago at a diner in Boston, where he proceeded to stab his friend's eyes out. With a steak knife, he then finished his meal."  
"That's funny, Po doesn't look crazy." Skye says, everyone turning to look at her. "I'm kidding, the guy is a walking mugshot."  
"Which means he shouldn't be too hard to track down. Finding Po and these Centipede soldiers is a top notch priority for S.H.I.E.L.D. We'll be running point but we won't be working alone." Coulson tells everyone, smiling slightly.  
"What team did they send for backup?" Ward asked.  
"Not a team, a person." I smirked, "Someone to help us fight fire with fire."  
"Somebody we worked with before?" Skye questioned.  
"Not quite." Coulson grins. He and I share a look.  
"Well I'll go get cleaned up then, wouldn't want to look bad for a guest." I say as I skip back to my bunk. I grabbed some clothes and changed, knowing exactly who was coming. I took about an hour to finish getting ready, stopping every few minutes to look out the window.  
I walked back to the Command Center and found Ward, Simmons, Skye, and Fitz already there. They're all watching the footage of Mike saving the doctor from when they first met him.  
"It's not good, at all." Ward states as he straightens up, "The guy was a ticking time bomb, literally."  
"HQ wouldn't have sent him if he was still combustible. They must've found a way to stabilize him somehow." Fitz explains, looking disappointed.  
"They stabilize his attitude? Cause he was pretty hostile in Union Station." Ward retorts.  
"Well, it's not like we haven't opened up our doors to other," Simmons nods towards Skye as she speaks, " people, people with questionable track records."  
"Not cool," Skye says, offended. " but true. And don't worry about Mike, he's a good guy."  
"Who's been in the Centipede program." Simmons pointed out.  
"He can give us some superpower backup." Skye mentioned.  
"Yeah." Simmons agreed.  
"Just saying, this could easily go sideways." Ward starts, not noticing the two men behind him, "I mean the last time we saw this guy, he was a raging homicidal maniac-" Ward notices everyone looking behind him, "he's standing right behind me isn't he?"  
"Mr. Peterson, this is Agent Grant Ward, he's the man who shot you at Union Station. " Coulson says and then he points to Fitz-Simmons, "Fitz-Simmons, they designed the weapon he used, and I think you remember-"  
"Kidnap victim." Skye said, smiling.   
"You joined S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Mike asked, amused.  
"Yeah. Turns out, guys in suits, not so bad." Skye tells him. His eyes land on me.  
"Oh, I'm Sydney. We haven't met, but I know all about who you are. Sounds creepy, but it's true. Easier if you don't ask." I explain. He nods.  
"Look, I know Union Station could have gone another way. Another team might not have let me out of there alive. I owe you, all of you." Mike tells everyone.  
"That's bygones and water under a distant bridge far away," Skye laughs, " How's your son?"  
"Still with my sister. He thinks I'm working construction, but he's good, happy." Mike answers. I frown a bit.  
"So what do we have?" Coulson asks, going over to the holocom.  
"Not much on Po. I checked his previously known addresses and old military contacts, came up empty." Skye answers.  
"We've been looking for where Po might be on the outside," Coulson realizes "Let's look at his life on the inside, at the prison. See if that gets us any leads." Skye nods and Coulson looks at Fitz-Simmons, "Anything on the Centipede Soldiers?"  
"We found a facial re-cog match on one of them." Simmons beams. Ward hits a button on the holocom and brings up the info.  
"His name's Brian Hayward. Stationed in Afghanistan for three years, then fell off the radar when he got back." I spoke up, stealing Ward's spotlight.  
"Only living relative is his sister, Laura, sophomore at the University of Ohio." Skye tells Coulson.  
"She's our best shot at finding Hayward," Coulson says looking at Ward, "You and I will go talk to her. Have May set a course for Cleveland."  
Everyone went about, doing what they had to. I didn't know exactly what to do so I just went back to my bunk. Mike knocked soon after.  
"Come in." I said, stuffing Bobert back under the covers, Mike opens the door. "Mike! How you doing?"  
"I'm okay. I just got done with some testing. I was wondering, why you-"  
"Why I know so much? Short answer, I'm from a different Universe. I know it sounds impossible but so does an alien attack." I told him. He raises an eyebrow.  
"Are you messing with me?" He asks. I shake my head no.  
"I wish I was. I'm only here on the Bus because they want to make sure I don't get hurt or taken for info or something. but it's alright, I like it here. I already know most of the stuff that's happening. Sometimes a few things slip through the cracks, but for the most part I know a lot." I explain.   
"So, you're from another universe?" Mike clarifies. I nod. "And you know a lot of stuff about everything?" I nod again. "Wow. I'd love to be you."  
"No, you really wouldn't." I tell him. He looks at me confused. "Don't worry about it, let's go find Skye or someone. I feel like we're missing something." The two of us stand up and walk to the Command Center, finding May and Skye both there.  
"-means something to them. To Po and whoever she is. " Skye says to May.  
"Her name's Raina." Mike and I say at the same time, causing both May ans Skye to look at us.  
"You know her?" Skye asks Mike. He nods.  
"Yeah, she's the one who recruited me for Centipede. Came up to me in the hospital where I did my back therapy, out of the blue. Told me she could change my life." Mike explains. I chuckle.  
"Well she was right about that, wasn't she?" I say. Everyone looks at me slightly annoyed. "Whatever." I sigh, walking out to go find the kitchen.  
Within a couple of hours we were flying in California's skies. Skye went to go see Mike and I was currently doodling on a piece of paper I found. Ward came up behind me.  
"What are you drawing?" He asked, startling me.  
"You walk too quiet." I complain, adding the finishing touches to my doodle. "I have no clue what I'm drawing. Just popped in my head."  
"Sorry about scaring you, and whatever it is, it looks nice." Ward sat down beside me.  
"So, you and May?" I muttered, low enough so no one but him could hear, he glared at me. "Not judging, just trying to make small talk." I defend.  
"Well, as fun as small talk would be, Mike is about to go so .."  
"Right, let me just throw this away. " I say, getting up and tossing the paper into a waste-basket. He gets up and we both head down to the lab. Mike was wearing the suit  
"I think it's quite smart." Simmons marvels. Fitz nods.  
"How does it feel?" Fitz asks. Mike is grinning from ear to ear.  
"Feels good, comfortable." He answers, flexing.  
"Having powers is cheating, but the suit's pretty cool." Ward compliments.  
"It's perfect for an array of tactical missions." I say.  
"Yeah, it also measures your heart rate, systolic pressure, and glucose levels," Simmons boasts, a slight bounce in her step.  
"All while providing state of the art ballistic protection." Fitz grins.  
"Yeah." Simmons says dreamily, whether at Mike or the suit, I still wasn't sure.  
"Thanks." Mike tells them.  
"Oh no, thank you." Simmons assures him.  
"We've never been so proud." Fitz nods.  
"Hayward's cellphone has been traced to an abandoned factory about eight miles from here, "Coulson says as he walks down the staircase, hitting a button to bring up an overhead view.  
"Probably Centipede's new lab." Ward inffers.  
"Certainly been their MO, we destroy one factory they set up another putting us back to square one. This time, I want answers." Coulson says sternly.  
"Means we go in quiet, do minimal damage to the facility and the people inside." May announced.  
"Ward, May, you'll go in through the west entrance," Coulson orders, pointing out their entry on the map, " Mr.Peterson and I will enter through the loading dock. Simmons will run back in from the outside." Simmons nods.  
"We're doing this just us?" Skye asks, "We've been playing whack-a-mole with these guys since Ward first picked me out of my van. Shouldn't big S.H.I.E.L.D. be sending backup?"  
"Trust me, they already did. "Coulson assures her, looking at Mike.  
"Let's move." May tells everyone. We all move to our spots. Fitz-Simmons, Skye and I were all in a van looking at the heat signatures.  
"We alone here?" Coulson asks.  
"It appears so. The only heat signatures we're seeing are yours." Simmons tells them. I look down and start picking at my nails, knowing exactly what was going to happen.  
"But there's a weird electronic signal. I'm trying to isolate it." Skye mumbles.  
"Think we're too late?" Ward asks everyone.  
"Fitz, dial Hayward's number." Coulson orders. Fitz does. Then the monitor goes nuts.   
"Uh, sir, you've got company." Fitz declares.  
"Yeah we do."  
"Coming your way." Ward tells Coulson. Seconds later Mike's suit monitors went crazy.  
"What's happening?" Skye worries.  
"His systolic and diastolic pressures are dropping." Simmons states.  
"Heart rate's plummeting as well." Fitz adds.  
"Sir, he's in bad shape. Between the physical exertion and this wound his vitals are dangerously low." I rush out. Then, moments later it was all over. Hayward was dead, Raina knew about Mike and I was trying to keep myself together.  
Back on the Bus everyone was in the lab, everyone except me. I snuck up to the kitchen to make myself some chocolate milk. Chocolate milk is my cure for most things. I sat in silence for a long time, I felt guilty about not warning the team. I felt guilty about Hayward. Suddenly Coulson tapped my shoulder and motioned for me to follow him to the living room.  
"They want a trade. Ace for his father. They've set a time and place." Coulson informs everyone.  
"Bloody savages." Fitz hisses.  
"They want to experiment on him, determine how he still has his abilities." Simmons points out.  
"And we're going to let them? We've fought these guys before." Ward trails off.  
"We don't have a choice. The instructions they gave Mr. Peterson were very specific. I called HQ, told them to stand down." Coulson says.  
"Stand down?" May scoffs.  
"So we take them alone." Ward suggests.  
"We should at least have a hostage rescue unit in support of this." May pleads.  
"They said they would murder my son." Mike speaks up. This quiets them. "If we make one wrong move."  
"Any electronics, any comms, and sign of surveillance and they'll terminate the arrangement." Coulson explains.  
"I'll give myself up, no problem, get him back. I can figure it out from there." Mike assures everyone.  
"You're still recovering." Skye reminds them," We can't just hand you over to them like that, can we?"  
"Fitz-Simmons have a non-electronic method of tracking him." I inform them.  
"Simmons has fabricated an odorless scent. I have an instrument which can detect it. Works like a bloodhound, can track someone from over 50 kilometers." Fitz explains.  
"After we make the trade we'll be able to follow Mr. Peterson. Buy him some time to get his strength back. We'll find him." Coulson assures Skye.  
"I don't care what happens to me. As long as my boy is..."  
"I promise you, we're gonna get your son back." Coulson tells him. Mike nods.  
Everyone goes and prepares for the trade, I however follow Mike. At first he doesn't notice me, not until I clear my throat.  
"Mike, I know what the actual deal is." I whisper. Mike turns his head towards me, avoiding eye contact. "And I know you have no choice. Just know that Ace will be okay."  
"Thanks." Mike says, nodding. "But it's not just one person they want me to trade."  
"Oddly enough, I had an inkling suspicion." I smiled. "They don't just want Coulson do they? They want me too."  
"I'm sorry." Mike half-sobs.  
"It's okay. I know I'll be just fine." I say. After a few moments of silence I give him a hug, whispering into his ear. "I'm the unknown variable, Mike. I know what to do." I let go of him and walked away.  
We got to the bridge and parked by the barricade. May and Coulson were in the other SUV, arguing about who should escort Mike. I walked to the back of the SUV and watched as Simmons brushed the chemical on the back of Mike's hand.  
"Once the swap happens, I'll fire up my equipment. We'll be able to track you wherever they take you." Fitz says for the third time.  
"Just don't do anything to endanger my son." Mike begs.  
"We won't," Skye assures him,"but we want to make sure Ace still has his dad at the end of the day too."  
"Mike?" I ask to get his attention. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind giving Ace something for me." I pull a folded piece of paper out of my pocket, "It's a drawing I did a while ago while I was at the Stark tower. I also got Tony to sign it, alone with all the other Avengers."  
"Of course." Mike says, shocked. He takes the paper.  
"Time to go." Coulson says. Mike and I both start walking. "My team won't let you down."   
"It wasn't supposed to go down like this. I'm gonna make this right, I swear." Mike apologies.  
"Give Ace the paper as soon as you hold him, Mike." I say. Mike nods as Raina walks up to us.  
"Hello Mike." She smiles. "It's been a while. Your son is adorable, and he looks just like you," Raina looks at Coulson. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure."  
"Lucky for you." Coulson and I say at the same time.  
"I have to thank you, Mike. For holding up your end of the deal." Raina smiles.  
"Let's just make the trade. Give us Ace and you can have him." Coulson suggests. I look down.  
"Oh, that wasn't the deal." Raina laughs as Mike looks down.  
"I'm so sorry." Mike mumbles.  
"What's happening here Mike?" Coulson asks, obviously confused.  
"In exchange for Ace she asked Mike to deliver us." I said flatly. Mike then lunges at Raina, grabbing her by the throat.  
"I'm not at full strength but I can still crush your throat. New deal! My son for your life!" Mike tries.  
"Sadly, my employer cares no more for my life than your son's. If I die, so does he. And his death will be so much worse." Raina spits.  
"You need to let her go." Coulson says to Mike, his hand on Mike's shoulder.  
"I told them they could have me," Mike cries," but they want you two. Why do they want you?"  
"I don't know, but if you kill this woman you'll never see your son again." Coulson reasons.  
"But how will I look him in the eye?" Mike sobs, "How will I explain what I did?"  
"We talked about this." Coulson reminds him.  
"I'm so sorry." Mike says as he lets go of Raina. Coulson looks at Raina.  
"Let's finish this." Coulson decides, knowing full well that I already knew. Raina turned to the car and waved her hand. Ace ran out of the car towards Mike.  
"Dad!" Ace exclaims. Mike runs and picks him up, hugging him tightly.  
"If there had been any other way..." Mike says as he walks past Coulson and I.  
"You made the only choice you had." Coulson tells him.  
"Give him the paper, Mike. Please." I say, smiling. Mike faintly nods, takes out the drawing and hands it to Ace. They walk past us, and then Raina comes up behind Coulson and I, knocking us unconscious. The last thing I remember is a Centipede soldier catching me before I hit the ground.


	8. Chapter Eight: Magical Place

I woke up in a strange room, creepy mannequins in the corners. I almost forgot what had happened, almost. I sat up and sighed, pulling at the cuff that was around my wrist. I looked at my surroundings, the room was full of dust and the mannequins looked old and worn out. The bed I was on had a simple mattress and a small white sheet, across the room is another bed next to an old dresser.   
The door swung open, revealing two soldiers and a tired Coulson. They dragged him to the bed and cuffed him. He laid still until they left. Once they were gone he pulled out a pair of tweezers and picked the lock on the cuffs.  
"I'm sorry, Coulson, but I didn't know how to keep Ace safe." I whispered as he picked up a mannequin and placed it in his bed, draping the blanket over it. He made a move for the door. "Stay hidden under the bed until they send someone in, one less person to worry about."  
"Right." Coulson mumbles, heading underneath the bed.   
"Things are changing." I tell him after a few moments of silence. "This universe is changing. They're only supposed to take you and no one else. But they took me too, and I'm still not sure why."   
The door opens slowly and a guard walks in, setting a tray of food on my bed and another one on the dresser. He pulls off the sheet and finds the mannequin. He goes to alert someone but Coulson kicks his legs out from under him and puts him into a choke hold, not stopping until the guard stops struggling. Coulson then quietly walks over to me and picks the lock on my cuffs.  
We both then head towards a door and rush out. Coulson stops and sees the deserted town.  
"The town that the bomb forgot," Po says beside us, eating an ice cream cone. "It was built in the '40s-"  
"For nuclear testing but when the Cold War ended, the town was spared." I finish. "I know, I spent almost a month on the Cold War each year."  
"Not exactly prime real estate." Coulson remarks.  
"True," Po says, nodding, "There's nothing but desert for hundreds of miles. But I really like it. It's nice here." Coulson walks back onto the porch. "the children are always playing," Po says as Coulson rushes towards him, only to be grabbed by the throat by a guard, "yet never make a sound. Shall we get back to it then?"   
"You're sick, you know that?" I tell Po. He just smiles as another guard comes from behind me, slinging me over his shoulder and carrying me inside. Coulson and I were once again separated, he was back in the machine and I was put into a much less comfortable room. No bed, no windows I could easily climb out of, just nothing but a Centipede soldier and my breathing.  
The door opens and Raina walks in, a small smile on her face. She whispers something into the guard's ear and he walks out, leaving the two of us alone. We sat in silence for a while, just staring at each other.  
"I don't believe we've formally met. I'm Raina." she says. i just roll my eyes.  
"I know, you're Raina, I'm Sydney, this is an old town made for nuclear testing, and the Centipede soldiers need tons of upkeep. Anything else you'd like to state?" I reply sarcastically.  
"Follow me please." Raina says, opening the door and walking out. I sigh and walk after her, only to hear Coulson crying out in pain. "He doesn't look so good." Raina says. Po looks over at us.  
"What took you so long?" Po asks.  
"I was tending to our other subject." she replies smoothly. Po sighs.  
"The persuasion skills I've spoken to the Clairvoyant so much about would better be served here with me, breaking this man." Po spits.  
"i would never use force to bend a man to my wishes." Raina calmly says. Po looks down.  
"He's been difficult." he excuses.  
"He's been beaten." Raina hisses.  
"Into submission. The Clairvoyant requested it and will tell me to-" Po gets cut off by his phone buzzing. "See?" he sneers, putting the phone up to his ear. "Yes? No. Well, I've only just begun. My methods are sound. I assure you..she's right here." Po says, looking at Raina. He hands her the phone.  
"This is Raina. Yes. I agree. Thank you. I'll put him back on." Raina smiles as she hands Po the phone.  
"Yes, I'm here." Po says, then he goes stiff and silent, blue lines spreading across his face. Raina catches the phone before it drops. She then steps further into the room, me following close behind.   
"This is turning into an interesting day isn't it?" Raina chuckles, handing Coulson a glass of water.  
"So you're my friend now?" Coulson questions, "Because I've seen what you do to your friends."  
"Mr. Po?" Raina asks.  
"No, your best friend from second grade, yes Mr. Po." I snap.  
"He was a murderer incapable of remorse." Raina shrugs as she faces a computer.  
"I was thinking Mike Peterson and Chan Ho Yin." Coulson retorts. Raina looks up but shows no reaction.  
"I gave them what they asked for. Mike wanted to be a hero to his son, now he is." She replies coldly.  
"Did Akela Amador want a bomb in her head?" Coulson questioned, meeting her with the same rigid tone.  
"The people you work for are just as capable of using cruel means to reach a justified end." Raina grins.  
"And who do you work for Raina?" Coulson scoffs slightly, "The Clairvoyant?"  
"Yes." Raina says simply.  
"Who is he?" Coulson prods.  
"I don't know. Today was the first time I personally made contact," She inhaled deeply, happily, "My heart's still racing."  
"He has you building soldiers." I state.  
"The Clairvoyant gives us guidance, formulas." Raina tells us.  
"For what?" Coulson wondered.  
"The changing world. The world your organization brought upon us. We're new to the business of what you've been doing for decades." Raina sneers.  
"So now what?" Coulson asks, tilting his head ever so slightly, "You have soldiers? You can make them strong, you can control them. In an instant you can kill them."  
"Yes, but we can't bring them back to life. You were killed," She steps closer to him. "Now you're here. We want to know how. Don't you?" Coulson looks down. "I'd like to turn on the machine again. It induces Theta brain-wave frequencies to help uncover the secrets buried in the subconscious. If you cooperate, you can surf those waves."  
"I've gone surfing, that is definitely not like surfing." Coulson chuckles half-heartily.  
"You've been resisting. Fight the waves, you drown. Your brain will cook. You'll stop breathing, again." Raina explains.  
"Then that's what it'll be or I hold out until my team comes to find us. Either way, you will not get classified Intel from me." Coulson frowns.  
"I'm not interested in those secrets. The Clairvoyant-"  
"Is a fake." I interrupt. Raina glares at me.  
"He can see within any agency, any government. He knows what the President drams about at night. I want what you want, to uncover a different secret...the secret that S.H.I.E.L.D. is keeping from you." Raina finishes. Coulson is quiet, contemplating what to do.  
"You have no proof that the Clairvoyant is, well, clairvoyant." Coulson says.  
"You're clinging to the one thing you do have, fond memories of your recovery." She suggests.  
"So this person you're working for told you I died and have gaps in my memory. Ever think your mind reader might just be looking up some symptoms online?" Coulson chuckles.  
"Isn't that true?" Raina says, cocking her head to the side.  
"I trust the system." Coulson tells her, hopping off the bed. "They keep secrets for a reason."  
"But why would S.H.I.E.L.D. keep details of your death from you? They're your family, your only family since you lost your mother too." Raina says, hitting a nerve. "But now, after all you've sacrificed..."  
"Sacrifice is part of the job. I would give my life-"  
"You didn't just give your life, you gave up your chance at a normal one, at love. And she did love you Agent Coulson." Raina confirms.   
"How could you know that?" Coulson asks, his voice cracking.  
"Do you miss her?" Raina asks, "Dinners at the Richmond. Do you miss hearing her play?" she walks towards him. "You didn't even have a chance to say goodbye."  
"I-I couldn't. I-I can't." Coulson says, his heart slowly breaking.  
"She cried for days after they told her you died. They shattered her heart with a lie, and now they're lying to you." Raina uttered.  
"No. No, they're not." Coulson refuses, looking down.  
"I know you don't want to believe it, but you can't tell me nothing makes you doubt, makes you wonder what happened in Tahiti." Raina pushes. Coulson's head whips up.  
"It's a magical pla-" Coulson says, cutting himself off. "I keep saying that."  
"Don't you want to know why?" Raina urges, her eyes begging.  
"Turn it on." Coulson caves. I look down at my feet, knowing that he had to know, and not just for his own good, but for Skye's and plenty of other's.  
"May I use the restroom?" I ask before Raina starts it up. She nods at a guard behind me and he leads me to the restroom. I closed the door and quietly climbed up to the small window, opening it and jumping down onto the dirt. I take off towards the small dirt cloud that Skye's car had created.  
"There's nowhere to run!" I heard a soldier shout, most likely at Skye. Then I saw the SUV speed past, hearing the man get hit. I ran over to everyone.  
"Coulson has to be here somewhere. We need to split up." Skye says just as I get to them.  
"Or run." Simmons suggests, a soldier behind us. Ward pulls something from his vest.  
"I'll take care of him." Ward assures her.  
"Are you sure?" May asks.  
"I got this." Ward says, more to himself than the others. He heads towards the soldier and May leads us all away.  
"Come on, let's move!" May shouts.  
"Skye, follow me." I say quietly, grabbing Skye by the hand and taking off in the direction that I came. Skye and I swung the door open, Raina spun around.  
"it's for his own good." Raina tried. Skye punched her in the face and then continues to help Coulson.  
"Let me die. Let me die." Coulson pleads. I walk over to where the device is plugged in and yank it out. Coulson kept sobbing.  
"Coulson, Coulson." Skye said. "Come back, come back, come back, come back, come back."  
"Skye? Skye." Coulson cries as his breathing eases. "Skye."   
"I'm sorry." I say as I walk out to find the SUV. I quietly get in and make myself as small as physically possible.   
When we got to the Bus I headed away from everyone. Skye kept giving me the side-eye while we were in the SUV. No one spoke much. Simmons tried to make small talk but no one was in the mood.   
When I got to my bunk I found Bobert on the floor, where he shouldn't be. I picked him up and shrugged it off, it was probably one of the other agents. I sighed as I sat down on the bed and looked around. Nothing else seemed to be out of place, just Bobert.  
I decided to change into cleaner clothes and stay hidden in my bunk. Ward came to talk to me but I wouldn't let him in. I didn't let anyone in. All it did was get people hurt.


	9. Chapter Nine: Seeds

I finally forced myself out of my bunk, mostly because I needed to eat something, but also because I wanted to find Coulson. My feet carried me to his door, which was shut, and I prepared to knock. The key word there is 'prepared'. I stood there for a long time, trying to convince myself to knock, to apologize, to talk to him, but I couldn't find the courage. Finally, I just forced myself to knock.  
After a few seconds Coulson opened the door and let me in. He shut the door behind me and motioned for me to sit. I made sure to not make eye contact, knowing full-well that if I did I wouldn't be able to say anything.  
"You wanted something?" Coulson asked.  
"I just...I wanted to...I'm sorry I'll just go. You're probably busy," I mutter, standing up to leave.  
"Sydney, sit," Coulson ordered. I slowly sat back down, like a kid who was pulled into the principle's office. "Now, what is it that you need?"  
"I just wanted to see how you were doing." I lied.  
"Then look at me," Coulson told me, knowing exactly why I was there. I brought my eyes up to meet his, freezing as soon as I saw them. He looked tired and worn out.   
"I'm sorry," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "If I knew another way to keep Ace safe, I would've told you. But I couldn't see any way that we could keep him safe, I couldn't figure it out. And I'm sorry for not telling you, about-"  
"I understand," Coulson says. "I would've done the same thing if I was in your position. Knowing everything, that has to take a toll on someone's well-being, especially emotionally."  
"But I could've found another way out. I could've-"  
"There wasn't another way, Sydney." Coulson tries to assure me. "There wasn't at all. At least you're safe. And now I have the answers to my questions. I'm alive, I'm safe now. So what else is on your mind?"  
"Nothing, nothing at all," I say stiffly, looking down at his desk. That's when I saw the picture of Coulson, dead, in an unzipped body bag. He swept it under another paper and cleared his throat.  
"Well then, you should be on your way then," Coulson replies, a twinkle in his eyes.  
"I'm going to assume we'll be off to Sci-Tech?" I ask. Coulson nods. "I guess I'll go look presentable then." I walk out, almost running into May, and I then scurry off back to my bunk.  
Skye, StratigicWard, Fitz, Simmons, and I were all standing in the front of the building. I let myself stray a bit from them, keeping a few feet away.  
"This was the S.S.R. facility before S.H.I.E.L.D. was even founded. S.S.R. stands for-" Simmons   
" Stratigic Scientific Reserve, yeah I know. Is this where you got all you PhDs?" Skye asks, looking around in wonder.  
"Oh no, you need at least one to get into the door." Simmons scoffs.  
"Is science and technology what you imagined, Agent Ward?" Fitz asks. Ward nods.  
"Yup. No uniforms, no rope courses, no defined muscularity on anyone." Ward mocks.  
"No marching in place, no IQs in the double digits..." Fitz retorts as an older woman walks up to us.  
"There they are. So good to see you." The woman says, shaking Simmons' hand.  
"You look as lovely as ever." Simmons beams.   
"I concur." Fitz says as he also shakes her hand. The woman looks over at Skye and Ward, not noticing me in the back.  
"Agent Ward, pleasure to have you, sir." She says, shaking his hand as well.  
"Agent Weaver. There's a list of suspects?" Ward asked, not bothering with small talk.  
"Based on the level of intelligence it would take to put a device together like the one we found we've narrowed it down to the top 10% of our cadets. I'm worried there's a bad seed." Agent Weaver worries.  
"Not all 'bad seeds' are inherently bad, Agent Weaver. It could most definetly be someone from the outside influencing them." I say, causing her to look up at me. She smiles.  
"That's very true, but I doubt that very much. Until I have further proof I'll assume it's just a bad seed." Weaver finishes, turning to Ward.  
"'It' is a person. And I have a feeling that they wouldn't like being called an 'it', Agent Weaver," I retort, looking her directly in the eyes. "Ward will want to speak with Seth Dormer once he's out of class, but right now you need to get Fitz and Simmons set up in the lecture hall. Good day, Agent Weaver." She looked stunned and walked away, Simmons and Fitz following behind, equally confused.  
"You okay?" Ward asked while we were walking to find the Wall of Valor.  
"Why wouldn't I be?" I ask, a fake smile spreading across my face. Once Skye realised where we were she got real quiet before talking.  
"The Wall of Valor..." she said, looking at all the names.  
"So you've read about it." Ward says, a smile smile on his face.  
"Every S.H.I.E.L.D. facility has a memorial to the agents lost in the line of duty," Skye says, walking closer to the wall, "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history can be traced on walls like this," she reaches out and touches the wall. "Bucky Barnes."  
"Puts it into perspective, what we do." Ward explains.  
"Must make you guys proud, all this history. Just wish I was a part of it," Skye said, turning around and looking at him. "It's not self-pity, really. I'm just saying everyone here has earned this. They deserve it. I hacked my way in, feels like I cheated."  
"All you need to join is a dedication to the grater good. Coulson saw it the moment he laid eyes on you." I shrug. "Besides, everyone finds their way in somehow, how they get there is on them."  
I found myself in the lecture hall, sitting a few seats down from Donnie Gill, a brilliant kid, when Agent Weaver spoke.  
"Today, we are proud to welcome back two of our best Agents, and our youngest graduates to date. You know their names. Please join me in welcoming Agent Leopold Fitz and Agent Jemma Simmons." Weaver said, a great big smile on her face. The whole hall clapped, sounding like thunder.  
"Thank you," Jemma said, standing at the podium now, "It's nice to be back. Unfortunately, it has to be under these circumstances."  
"If you don't know S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history by now, there's no excuse....unless you fell asleep in Professor Vaughn's class, that's perfectly acceptable." Fitz jokes, everyone laughing.  
"Our instincts as scientists is to move forward, advance quickly, push the envelope. But given," she sighed, " recent circumstances it makes sense to reflect back on our history." I ended up zoning out, thinking about how I could've been nicer to Weaver when I met her, of course that didn't last very long.  
"And S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded after the S.S.R. was able to defeat the nearly indomitable force known as Hydra." Fitz boomed, bringing me back to the land of the living.  
"We tend to forget that these organizations, Hydra, Centipede, A.I.M., were also made up of extremely brilliant scientists. Men and women who started with the same unlimited potential as you or I." Simons explains. I look over at Donnie, who looks as if he is breathing every word she says.  
"Potential can sometimes be dangerous. Plutonium has the potential to power a city or to be a nuclear bomb." Fitz tells everyone, looking serious.  
"Today, we'd like to share a few stories from the field in which we learned this lesson up close and faced consequences when untested technology or biology lands in the wrong hands," Simmons starts, smiling as a picture appears on the screen behind her. "Don't worry, we brought pictures."  
"Oh, god. Oh, god!" Donnie yells out, standing up and looking terrified. "What is this?" he shrieks, ice spreading up his legs. "Hey! What's happening to me?!? Help! Help me! Get it off! Can anybody help me?!? Make it stop! Help me get it off! No! Make it stop!" he yells as the ice fully encases him.  
"Find exposed skin!" Simmons orders. "He needs glucose to raise his body's natural freezing point."  
"Simmons, I need something to break the ice." Fitz says as she hands him a scapel. He starts chopping at the ice, findingexposed skin. "Jemma." he says as she stands next to him. "Ready?"  
"Yeah." Simmons says, giving Donnie the glucose he needed. Ward runs down the hall.  
"Fitz, talk to me." Ward says, unsure what to do.  
"Something's doing this to him, find it!" Fitz orders. I spot the device and point it out to Skye.  
"Smash it!" I say. Ward quickly kicks it and as soon as it breaks, the ice around Donnie breaks apart, causing the young cadet to collapse.  
"It's okay, it's okay. It's over, it's okay." Fitz assures Donnie, lowering him to the floor. I watched as everyone settled, and started investigating. I walked over to Ward.  
"I know what you're thinking, Donnie was the intended target, right?" I ask. Ward nods. "What if neither of them were targets." I suggest, walking past him to Weaver.  
"Sydney, correct? Jemma filled me in on your predicament." Weaver said. I just nodded.  
"Yes, and about earlier, I'm sorry for the way I acted. On my world pople tended to think I was the bad seed, but really I never wanted to do anything that I did. I was always pressured into it." I explained, Weaver nodded. "Would you mind it if I escorted Donnie to his room? I know you'd prefer to have an agent do it, but I don't think that's what he needs right now. I think he needs someone who can understand what it's like to feel out of place."  
"Of course." Weaver smiled, walking over to the group with me following, "Donnie, I'm going to have Sydney escort you back to your room. You get some rest and stay warm." She said as i walked over to him.   
"Sorry I ruined your lecture. I was really looking forward to it." Donnie said as we walked past Fitz-Simmons.  
"It's not your fault, Donnie." Simmons smiles, being as nice as ever. Donnie looks down and walks out of the hall with me in tow.  
"Donnie, do you mind if I ask you a question?" I say as we walk.   
"Sure." he mumbles.  
"Do you feel like, no matter what you do, you just can't seem to get things right?" I ask. He takes a few seconds to answer.  
"Almost always. Sometimes though I decide to do something spontaniuos, it seems to make me feel less like a failure and more like a normal kid, ya know?" Donnie tells me.  
"I think so." I mumble. Donnie nods and we continue walking. "Want to know something interesting?"  
"Sure." Donnie shrugs, not expecting much.  
"I'm from another universe." I tell him. Donnie stops walking and looks at me like I'm an idiot. "No joke, I'm from another universe. This universe is all fiction. Hell, take a look at my dna, it's a complete mess. Hasn't stopped changing since I got here, it's why I'm with the team."  
"You're not joking are you?" Donnie chuckles, starting to walk again.  
"No. And as much as I miss my world, this one has so many possibilities. I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd rather be." I smile. "However, being here comes with a price. A price that I have to pay. Since all this is fiction, I know what's going to happen. I know secrets and it's terrible. I watch people die, all because I don't know how to stop anything."  
"That has to be emotionally horrid." Donnie says as we reach his room. I shrug.  
"It is, but I can't let the team know. If they knew-"  
"How broken and alone you truly felt, they'd look at you differently, treat you different than everyone else." Donnie finished. "I know the feeling. Uh, thanks for walking me to my room."  
"No problem, just promise me that when you use the big one that you'll wear a helmet." I say, leaving Donnie confused and stunned. "Also, call me before you do! My number's in your pocket!" I smirk, making my way to the boiler room. Fitz walked past me, on his way to Donnie's.  
The boiler room was larger than I imagined. It was nice, being somewhere that I could be someone else, someone normal. I walked down the steps and smiled, watching the pool table. I pulled out a twenty from my pocket and started playing, by the time Ward and Skye found me and Callie playing I had racked up a few hundred bucks.  
"Not a bad shot." Ward says to Callie.  
"You mean for a girl." Callie scoffs.  
"For anybody." Ward compliments.  
"Elastic collision equations, contact point geometry and practice. So, why is a guy from operations hanging out in the boiler room anyway?" She smirks.  
"He's looking for the smartest mind in the room." I pipe up, hitting the either ball in. She hands me a twenty and I smile. "Thanks."  
"I need someone to duck out and join my top shadow unit." Ward smiles.  
"Shadow unit doing what?" Callie asks, obviously hooked.  
"I've said too much already," he sighs. "but that tech in the lecture hall, it was impressive. Whoever built that tech I could see them moving to level 6 within the year."  
"Even though Donnie and Seth were hurt?" She questions, a bit confused.  
"The boys survived." Ward points out.  
"Yeah, probably the best thing that's happened to them all year." Callie sighs.  
"Why don't you tell me what you meant by that? And I'll not tell Agent Weaver how eager you werevto jump rank over to operations." Ward blackmails.  
"I'm just saying they've been talking about meeting Agent Fitz for weeks, and they did." Callie shrugs. That's when my phone went off, an unknown number calling. I walked past Simmons and Skye, running up the stairs.  
"Donnie?" I answer.  
"We're going to use it right now." Donnie says, worry apparent in his voice.  
"Are you both wearing helmets?" I asked, dreading the answer.  
"No, we didn't have time. Sydney, I'm scared." Donnie confessed.  
"Just tell me where you are. I can help." I try.   
"Who are you talking to?" I heard Seth say in the background.  
"A friend." Donnie tells him before whispering into the phone. "We're hiding out in a parking garage near the Academy."  
"I'll be there as soon as I can," I tell him, hanging up and heading outside towards the garage. I looked up to see the clouds forming, the storm getting ready to hail. I quickly ran into the garage, and as soon as I did the hail started. I make my way up towards the top and hear a car door shut and people yelling.  
"What are you doing?!?" Seth shouts, following Donnie into the bed of the truck.  
I ran to the top only to find them already on the truck bed, working on the machine. I jog over to them just as Seth flies backwards. I throw myself beneath him to try and help. His head still hit the ground.   
"Seth!" Donnie shouted, running over to us. I sat Seth up and checked for a pulse, finding none.  
"Donnie, he's gone." I tell him. he just shakes his head.  
"No, he can't be. No, no no." Donnie repeats, shaking his friend. The Bus lands behind us, Coulson, Fitz, and Simmons all running over to us. "He's been hurt! Please, you need to help him now!" Donnie pleads.  
Coulson, Donnie, and Fitz pick up Seth and rush him onto the Bus, I followed close behind.  
"He's in cardiac arrest! Skye, get a blanket for his head! Lay him down here!" Simmons orders the boys. "Sir, I need an A.E.D.! Fitz oxygen!"  
"I got it," Coulson says handing the kit to Simmons. I go over to Donnie, he looks like his whole world has been shattered. We both watch as they try to save Seth. When Coulson stops Simmons, we know it's over. Donnie cries out.  
"No, Seth," Donnie mumbles, touching his cheek," Seth! Seth! Come on! No!" Donnie sobs. "No." he says quietly. Everyone was silent, not sure what to do or say. Eventually we landed, Fitz walked Donnie out of the Bus. I watched as Donnie got into the car, knowing he would never be the same again.   
After I ate dinner Coulson came over to me. At first we just sat in silence, not saying anything. But eventually he spoke.  
"What you did today was dangerous." He started to lecture.  
"If you knew what was going to happen, would you have turned the other cheek?" I asked. He looked away, ignoring my question completely.  
"What you did was incredably dangerous and stupid, but it was also brave. I understand that you know things, things that you can't tell us. But that doesn't mean you can go off on your own, putting yourself into danger," He huffs, clasping his hands together.  
"Like you do? Coulson, you have your hero and I have mine. We both want to be like them, do we not?" I inquire. Coulson nods. "So, why is it that you haven't realised who my hero is?"  
"I don't know. I guess I'm not paying enough attention." Coulson suggests.  
"No, it's because you don't think that you're a hero." I hint, getting up and putting my plates in the sink. "It's because you've been pretending to be a hero for so long you don't notice that you're actually one."  
"I'm really not." Coulson chuckles sadly.  
"But you are. Cap would agree, Fury agrees, Skye, May, Fitz, Simmons, Stark, Romanov, Barton, and I all agree. You're a true hero." I shrug. "Whether or not you beleive anyone is up to you."


	10. Chapter Ten: T.R.A.C.K.S.

Everyone was in the Command Center, talking about finding Quinn. I was outside of the room, listening in. Coulson banned me from going on missions for the week after the stunt I pulled with Donnie. I, of course, was not going to just sit back and watch as everything goes to shit. Besides, I knew a bit of Italian.  
I left the bus right after everyone else. I also may have stolen some money from Fitz. I needed a ticket to get onto the train after all. Once I was on board I found a bathroom and changed into a dress I found in my drawer. I also put on a pair of glasses and quickly cut my hair. Once I was content with how I looked, I exited the bathroom and sit down where I can see Coulson and Simmons.   
" All mom ever wanted was your love, to be with you-" Simmons starts. Coulson looks very embarrassed. ", at our two story Victorian home in the Cotswolds. But could you even give her a moment, what with your banking job requiring you to travel to the states from Tuesday to Saturday every other week?! No!"  
"I'm terribly sorry about your loss, dear." A man says, looking a lot like Stan Lee and then looking towards Coulson. "As for you, now is your chance to do better. Why don't you see that you take it?" He walks on.  
"He's right," Simmons says. "You never had any time for her, but you made time for your work! And your prostitutes!" She yells, turning and spilling the ash all over the men they were waiting for. I watched as she and Coulson whispered to each other and the men walked past me. Coulson looked up and we made eye contact, however, he didn't realize it was me. Or I don't think so.   
I waited until the announcement about the Tre Cime Di Lavaredo to get up and walk past Coulson and Simmons toward where Skye and Fitz are. I open the door and shut it quickly. Skye and Fitz both don't recognize me at first.  
"Calm down guys, it's just me." I say as Skye aims the night-night gun at me. Or was it icers? I can't remember.  
"Sydney?" Skye says as I walk towards her.  
"No, I'm Bobert. Of course it's me. Is it that hard to tell?" I ask. Fitz nods. "Anyways, comms are down and the train should be stopping soon. Cybertek knows we're here and Russo is in on it." I tell them as Simmons runs in.  
"We've been made!" Simmons yells, turning around and seeing the man with the grenade. "Oh bloody hell!" She says, pushing into him.  
"Jemma!" Fitz shouts as the grenade goes off and they fall to the floor.  
"They're both okay. Just an airborne form of Dendrotoxin." I assure them. "We should probably move her somewhere and leave her a gun."  
"Right." Skye says. The three of us quickly hide her and leave her a night-night gun. After we put the man into a box and shoot him with the night-night gun, the train stops.  
"Train's stopped." Fitz states.  
"I know, and I looked everywhere, May, Ward and Coulson are gone," Skye says, looking at me. "But you knew that didn't you?"  
"I was about to tell you but then Jemma ran in. I forgot about that." I shrug.  
"What about Cybertek?" Fitz asks. Skye and Fitz decide to follow them.   
As soon as I saw the house I felt sick. This was to be Skye gets shot and almost dies. It's also where Mike kills a bunch of people. Quinn gets caught. I wasn't sure what to do.  
"-let them know we're here," Skye says, talking about the team.  
"You want to go in." Fitz sighs.  
"We can't let Quinn get away again. If Coulson were here-"  
"He wouldn't let that happen. He wouldn't want us to let it happen." I finish.  
"Let's do it." Fitz nods, unzipping his bag.  
"Can you disable their cars?" Skye asks.  
"With my bare hands," Fitz smirks, pulling a night-night gun out of his bag. "Take this." He tells Skye, not noticing me just walking towards the doors. At this point, I could care less about what happened to me. The man at the door sees me and goes for his gun as Skye shoots him in the head with the night-night gun.  
"What the hell Sydney?!" She yell-whispers at me. I just shrug.  
We make our way downstairs and towards the package. That's when Skye sees Mike.  
"Mike.." She breathes out, her heart breaking. I turn around and see Quinn.  
"Hello." He says, Skye, whipping around and aiming the gun. It didn't last long since a guy tore it from her hands and holds her by the throat, the gun aimed at her head. "Skye. The Clairvoyant told e to expect you. You, however," He says pointing at me. "he knows nothing about you."  
"Signor Quinn, this is the same gun as the specs you gave us." The train guy said.  
"Yeah, you guys have been looking at us while we've been looking at you. And we found a handful of particularly interesting things." Quinn smiles, twisting the lock on the chamber. The train guy lets her go and stands next to Quinn. The air hisses as Quinn open the chamber and pulls Mike out.  
"Mike. Oh god, you're alive." Skye says, obviously confused.  
"That's right, you know each other." Quinn grins, clapping Mike on the shoulder. "Hey, do you know who I am?"  
"An arrogant douche bag?" I ask, earning a glare from the Train guy. Mike nods.  
"And you have your orders?" Quinn asks. Mike nods.  
"Orders? Mike, what's happening? Mike?" Skye asks. The train guy gives Mike his leg.  
"Mancini, thank you." Quinn smiles, handing him the night-night gun. "You will be receiving your payment shortly." Mancini walks out and Quinn continues to talk. I zone out until Mike leaves and Skye starts yelling at him to wait.  
"Skye, I suggest you leave now," I tell her. I didn't want her to get hurt. I didn't want to see it happen. Quinn aims his gun towards her and shoots once. I grab her as she falls.  
"Shh Shh." Quinn cooed.  
"You son of a bitch," I growl, setting her against the wall. He shoots again, except this time it's me. I look down at my side to see it bleeding.   
"I'm sorry, but I have my orders too," Quinn says, walking out after shooting Skye again.   
I slowly open the door while holding my side, trying my hardest to keep awake. Coulson walks down the cellar stairs and sees me first.  
"Help her," I tell him, moving aside to let him in.  
"No, oh no, oh God no. Simmons! Get down here." Coulson yells, cradling her.  
"Chamber," I muttered. Simmons ran down the stairs followed by Fitz and Ward.  
"She's been shot," Coulson tells Simmons.  
"Keep her upright," Simmons instructs.  
"I got no pulse." Coulson worries.  
"She's lost too much blood-" Simmons starts.  
"Chamber!" I shout at her, pointing at it.  
"Put her in there," Simmons tells Ward and Coulson.  
"Do you even know what that thing is?" Ward asks.  
"Hyperbaric chamber and I said put her in there now!" She yelled. After that everything went fast and I finally passed out. Something tells me I was going to be in major trouble.  
I woke up in a hospital bed, a nurse checking my chart.  
"You're up. I'll go tell your team." she smiles as she leaves. I sigh and look around. Coulson walks in a frown on his face.  
"I told you-"  
"No missions for a week. I know. But I didn't want her to be alone. I knew it was going to happen. I tried to stop it, but like last time, I didn't stop it in time." I grumbled.  
"You could've been killed." Coulson points out.  
"I know. I really didn't care. I just didn't want her to get hurt. But she still did." I said, sitting up.  
"Sydney, I understand how you feel. I get it. It's just that you're important to the team now. I'd be heart-broken if you died, and so would everyone else." Coulson told me, sitting down in a chair.  
"So, when do I get out of here?" I ask.  
"Sydney, you disobeyed an order-"  
"I'm not an Agent, I'm a variable. I disobeyed to try and help. Something you've done before. Don't tell me I'm not going back on the Bus because I am. I will drag myself out of this bed and back to my bunk." I glare.  
"You get one more chance, but if you disobey a direct order again Fury will pull you off the team." He warns.  
"Got it." I smile.   
"I'll see what I can do to get you back on the Bus. Just rest or count to 1000 or something. Don't move." He says as he goes to talk to a doctor or something. I sit up slowly and sigh. I was already bored.


	11. Chapter Eleven: T.A.H.I.T.I.

Coulson convinced the doctor to release me early, but only if I was in a wheelchair and had Simmons check me over every few hours. Basically, I was to be babied. I was in the waiting room with everyone when the doctor delivered the news about Skye, that she didn't have a lot of time. Everyone was broken.   
After May stormed out to beat Quinn as much as she could, at least before Ward and Coulson got there, I was left in the waiting room with Fitz and Simmons. Simmons was falling apart and Fitz was blaming himself. I just bit the inside of my cheek, not sure what to say to them to help.  
"Fitz, it's not your fault. It the alleged Clairvoyant's. He told Quinn to shoot her. Quinn listened because he has blind faith in the man." I spoke up. Fitz-Simmons looked up at me.   
"What do you mean?" Simmons asked.  
"I'm just trying to say, don't blame yourselves. There's nothing you could've done to stop it. Look at me, I tried. Fitz, if you went in there you could've ended up like me, or worse. Simmons, you did everything perfectly." I assure them.  
"Sydney, it's not your fault either-" Simmons responds only to be interrupted by Fitz.  
"Yes it is. She knew it was going to happen and didn't say anything. How do we even know she actually tried. How to we know that she cares. If she really cared, Skye would be on the Bus with us, on her computer. Not in a hospital on life-support." He fumes. "If anyone's to blame it's her."  
"I agree," I tell him. "Everything that's going to happen, that has happened, it's because I couldn't stop it. However, if I had the chance, I wouldn't change a thing because something worse could happen. Whether or not you believe me, you know I hate myself for knowing all of this. I never asked to know everything."  
"Sydney-"  
"No, Simmons, I think I know what I have to do. You want me to help Fitz? To tell you something I know? Because I could tell you a whole lot. You want to know why the chamber was there?" I growl.  
"It would be nice..." Fitz mumbles.  
"I'll tell you, but only if you're willing to take responsibility for whatever happens, and whoever it happens to," I explain, my face stern.   
"I couldn't possibly have that on my conscience," Fitz says incredulously.  
"Exactly. Neither could I." I frown. After that, he went quiet and I was wheeled onto the Bus. An hour or so later Skye was loaded onto the Bus. I was in the lab with Fitz-Simmons, Ward, and Coulson. He was telling them how he was dead and was brought back. Simmons didn't believe it, neither could Fitz. Ward didn't know what to do, so he went up to see May.  
Not long after we were boarded by Agent Garret and Agent Triplett. I had wheeled myself into the pod with Skye. I had Fitz get Bobert from my room so I could give it to her. She looked so pale and fragile like a feather could break her. I set Bobert down on the bed next to her hand.  
"Hey, Skye. I'm sorry I didn't tell you to run sooner. Fitz blames me, I blame me too. But hey, at least you're in some dream world, jumping on clouds or something." I smile imagining it. "Don't worry, you'll be okay. I'm sure of it."  
I sat in silence with her for a while before Simmons came in to check on her vitals. She sent me a small smile before she left. Simmons was terrified that she couldn't save Skye. I could see it in her eyes.   
"You know, when I was little and I wasn't feeling well my mom would make up a story so I felt better. Maybe it'll help you too. I don't know. Let's see, a story...how about a story about a little girl? Let's call her Kay." I started, situating myself in the chair. "When Kay was six she went to her grandpa's a lot. He was her favorite grandpa. Now her grandpa lived next to a farm with beautiful horses.  
"Kay loved petting the horses and feeding them. But as much fun as the horses were, she loved doing things with her grandpa, like riding the banana-mobile, which was his yellow four-wheeler, or swinging on the tree, or even just fishing in the pond with him. Her grandpa was a very nice man. One day though her grandpa got into an accident on his motorcycle.  
"Kay visited him in the hospital. It took her a bit but she finally talked to him. She was worried. After he fell asleep though Kay found a sticker book of princesses and put them all over him. He wasn't very happy when he woke up, she may have put a sticker on his eyes. Kay couldn't stop laughing. That was one of her favorite days because her grandpa couldn't stay mad at her.  
"After Kay went home though her parents argued. She didn't know what they were yelling about. Kay drew a picture for her grandpa before bed, he loved it by the way, and she had dreams of horses and fish, only the horses swam and the fish ran. It was a strange dream, but it was happy." I finished. The story really had no point to it.  
I wheeled out of the room, bumping into Fitz-Simmons as they look through the echo-chamber. Fitz gave me a look and continued to work with Simmons. They found the Guest House file after a few minutes.  
"Oh, damn. Encrypted. Skye could crack this.." Simmons sighs.  
"It's not an encryption. Turn it on its side." I tell them, a small smirk on my face as Fitz does what I say. "It's a picture."  
I was carried up to my room when everyone realized where we were headed. Coulson didn't want me interfering at all. Basically, I couldn't do anything until everything was over. I decided to try and stand up, only to be yelled at by Simmons through the intercom.   
"Sydney! Don't you dare try and get out of that chair!" She barked. I looked up at the ceiling to see one of the drones.  
"I won't, I won't." I sighed, putting my feet back. "I'm just bored. How's Skye doing?"  
"She's deteriorating. The boys need to hurry, I'm not sure how much longer I can keep her stable." Simmons worried.  
"It'll be okay, Simmons," I assure her.  
Minutes later the boys show up and give Skye the GH-325. The only reason I knew when they came back was that Coulson walked past my bunk and to his office, May following soon after.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Yes Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorelei pays a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a filler tbh. Not detrimental really.

I had just gotten out of the wheelchair, Simmons had finally given in after I refused to let her check on me for several days. However, I wasn't allowed to be on my legs for longer than 30 minutes. I was currently walking down the stairs and into the lab, Simmons wanted to take a sample of my blood, see if it was still mutating or whatever.  
"No! What did I say?" I heard Simmons tell Skye. I looked over and saw Skye settling back down on the bed and I walked over.  
"Damn it," Skye swore. "Every time. It's like-"  
"She has a sensor for when you lift your butt off?" I ask as Simmons opens the door and walks in. "Yeah, good luck."  
"Back in it," Simmons orders Skye, looking up at me. "Sydney, sit. Now."  
"Sure thing, ma'am." I nod, plopping down in a chair.  
"I just want to stretch my legs." Skye whines. "Look!" she says, slapping her face lightly. "There's color in my cheeks. Breathing without," she pauses, settling deeper into bed. "Feeling like my whole body's on fire. I'm fine."  
"Fine is not the appropriate word to describe your state," Simmons tells her. "You've been shot twice, had your stomach perforated, and a breathing tube shoved down your throat. Better is a more accurate word."  
"Again with the blood drive? I'm not gonna have anything left." Skye groans. "Not sure how I feel about Dr.Simmons. She's so strict." Skye grins as Simmons removes the needle. "And pokey."  
"Well, patient Skye is unruly and stubborn." Simmons retorts.  
"And grateful," Skye tells her, a more serious tone to her voice. "I hope you know that."  
"I didn't do it alone," Simmons assures her, trying to be modest.  
"Still, I'm the most grateful-est-est-"  
"Est." I chime in, interrupting Skye.  
"- patient alive." Skye chuckles.  
"That's not even a word," Simmons says confused.  
"Hey," Ward says as he walks in. "This a bad time?"  
" It is if you're here to break her out," I tell him.  
"The warden has extended house arrest," Skye says, mimicking Simmons' accent, horribly.  
"Awful accent." Simmons scoffs.  
"I must look terrible!" Skye groans, covering her face. "Simmons won't even bring me a mirror."  
"I've seen worse," Ward assures her.  
"Wow. Thanks." Skye says sarcastically.  
"No, I mean, you look better than you did when you were dying." He tries to cover.  
"Swinging and missing, Ward," I tell him.  
"It's great to see you better." He smiles.  
"It was so stupid to go in there," Skye says, glancing towards me.  
"Hey, no point in doing that now." He tells her, sitting in a chair next to me. "You were brave. Thanks to you, every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the country knows Mike's alive."  
"Yeah, sorry about not telling you, but Skye had to." I apologize.  
"Did you tell them about the magic leg?" Skye checks.  
"I didn't call it that, but yes. Garret's running point on Mike. Thinks he's part of some project called Deathlok." Ward catches her up.  
"Well, he isn't wrong." I shrug, getting up to leave. "Sorry, but I'll leave the two of you to talk. Honestly, I came down because Simmons wanted a blood sample. Better do that before the warden gets mad. See ya." I say as I walk out the door.   
I slowly make my way through the lab, Fitz, and Simmons too busy with Skye's blood to remember about mine. I found my way to the Command Center and sat down, waiting for May to call everyone to the room. I only had to wait ten minutes or so.  
"New orders," May told everyone. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is detecting massive energy readings in the skies above the Cali/Nevada border."  
"Where's Coulson?" Ward asks.  
"Taking a personal day." I pipe up.  
"That's a couple days straight," Ward states, May shooting him a look.  
"These are the same readings-" Simmons starts.  
"It's the same as Selvig and Foster. It's an Asgardian." I tell them.  
"Not sure. Either way, S.H.I.E.L.D. wants us to be the Welcome Wagon." May tells us.  
Soon we are in the desert heading towards the readings. I zoned out until we came to a stop. Everyone waited until the facial recog went through, everyone except for me. I just got out of the SUV, May, and Ward both telling me to stay back.  
"Lady Sif, correct?" I ask her, knowing full well the answer.  
"Yes, and you are of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" She asks.  
"Yup." I smile.  
"Well, I must tell you. I am Lady Sif, and your world is in grave danger." She tells the team and I. May is shooting me a glare, all I do is smile back.  
Once everyone calms down and we get back to the Bus and Sif starts explaining the situation.  
"I understand you're looking for someone?" says Coulson.  
"I am hunting her. Lorelei. 600 years ago she used her powers to wreak havoc across the nine realms, to command armies, bring down kings, empires." Sif says.  
"What kind of powers we talking about?" Ward asks. "Strength? Speed?"  
"No, she's a sorceress. Bends men to her will." I say. Sif looks at me puzzled.  
"Only men?" May asks. "Her powers don't work on women?"  
"No. Men have an inherent weakness we do not share," Sif tells her. May smiles and nods, agreeing.  
"I can't imagine what she's talking about," Fitz says to Ward, who agrees.  
"The very sound of her voice can ensnare most. For the rare man who can resist, it's her voice joined by her touch that will overpower his will." Sif explains.  
"So, how do we stop her?" Coulson asks. Sif grabs something off her belt and sets it on the table.  
"With this," Sif tells him. "It prevents her from speaking. She wore one like it for centuries while locked in prison. She escaped when the Dark Elves invaded Asgard and came here using one of Loki's secret pathways between worlds."  
"Do we know where she is now?" Ward inquires.  
"All I know is the Bifrost delivered me to her last known location." Sif sighs.   
"Mostly small towns out that way. Let's start looking for unusual activity within a few hundred mile radius. Burglary, theft, assault. If this woman is used to ruling over empires....she's going to be hard to please." Coulson ordered.  
I decided waiting was taking too long so I went up to my bunk and laid on my bed. I grabbed Bobert and stared at the ceiling, zoning out. I knew that I couldn't say anything about everything that would soon unravel, but I still hated myself for it. Everything that these people were going to go through, everything that was going to come to light, it would break some of them and the others would be lost.  
I ended up passing out somewhere between self-loathing and over-worrying. When I woke up and went to check on everyone I saw that Simmons and Skye were locked inside the med pod. I must've been out for a long time. Coulson came behind me, scaring me.  
"Sydney?"  
"Coulson!" I exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "Fitz is... well you already know."  
"Yeah, so let's get them out and take back our plane," Coulson tells me. As soon as he walks in Simmons almost hits him with a fire extinguisher.  
"Sir, are you... you?" she asks.  
"Of course I am! Fitz has Sif trapped in the cage. We need to unlock the door, get her out." Coulson ordered.  
"Guys, I know they opened the airlock, but trust me, she is still out there. Unlock it and let her in." I tell them.  
"Simmons, come with me. I need your help." Coulson says, leaving Skye and I alone in the pod.  
"Sydney, I know that there are things you can't tell us, but does everyone make it out of this alive? Does Lorelei get what she deserves?" Skye asks, worried.  
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter much because you don't really get out of this bed so, yes. Everyone lives, Lorelei gets what's coming to her, and everyone is safe." I smile.   
"Good," Skye says. We sit in silence for a bit before she speaks up. "You know, you know everything about us, but none of us actually know you. You know who we are as people, you know some of our secrets, you know almost everything about everyone, but we don't even know your name."  
"I see where you're coming from, but I really don't think my name is worth anything. My full name is meaningless, there's no point to it." I tell her. "I know it's uneasy for all of you, knowing that I know a lot, but if any of you knew who I was before this before I magically ended up here, none of you would like me."  
"You don't know that Sydney," Skye says softly.  
"No, but it's better safe than sorry. Maybe one day I'll be ready to face that part of me, to let everyone in on that secret, but for now, everything in my very being is telling me to shut up and keep it hidden. After all, I'm only here because I am a liability because I could bring everything down in a matter of minutes if I spill." I explain. "I'm not detrimental to the team, I'm not important to the story, I'm expendable and won't cause a ripple."  
"Sydney, no one is expendable. You're not here because you're not important, you're here because you're very important, I don't think Coulson would let you be here if you weren't." Skye tries.  
"Yeah, well, to each their own I guess," I say, stopping the conversation there. Sif comes down with Lorelei in tow, the collar around her neck. "I should get going upstairs, I have an itch to draw something. Thanks for the talk Skye." I get up and stop at the door. "I'm sorry about what happened to Mike, I just needed to save Ace first." I left her alone in the pod, making my way back to my bunk so I could doodle.


	13. The End of the Begining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> angst. so much angst.

I was currently sitting on my bed, Bobert in my hands. I couldn't stop thinking of everything that was to come. I couldn't stop thinking about all the pain that everyone was going to go through. I kept telling myself that it was too dangerous, that telling them, telling anyone, could destroy everything. I was thinking about all this when May knocked on my door.  
"Hey come to the living room, Skye's getting her badge," May said.  
"No thanks," I replied. May stood at my door for another moment before leaving. This was when everything went to shit. Skye would become an agent, send the teams to various places to check out possible psychics, and then everything would unravel.  
I'm not sure how long I sat in silence, contemplating what to do, who to tell, what to tell, and so many other questions that would be left unanswered. I threw Bobert against the wall, sighing and closing my eyes, trying to concentrate when Coulson walked in, a look of worry on his face.  
"Sydney?" He asked, standing in front of me. "Everything alright?"  
"Yeah." I lied. "Everything is fine. I mean, why wouldn't it be? Skye's an agent now, she has finally made it in and now everything is going to go according to plan. Everything is great."  
"You're a terrible liar," Coulson told me, sitting down on the edge of my bed. "Besides, I needed to give you something."  
"Oh yeah? What's that?" I replied, slightly curious.  
"Well, I had a talk with Fury and he agreed, you're an agent now, whether you like it or not," Coulson told me. I sat up and looked at him wide-eyed. "However, due to your unique situation, we didn't have a last name to put on your badge so we decided to use mine."  
"Wait, what? Am I Agent Sydney Coulson now? Are you trying to tell me that I'm officially an agent and I have your last name?" I ask, still in disbelief.  
"Yes I am," Coulson says, handing me my badge. "Fury said this one was made specifically for you."  
"So, to dumb things down, I'm practically your daughter?" I clarify. Coulson chuckles.  
"Yeah, I guess so," Coulson says, getting up to leave. "Oh, hey, I know you have a lot on your plate, and I know you can't say anything, just find some way to cope other than locking yourself away and throwing things."  
"I'll adapt. I have to. There isn't any other way for me to live an actual life unless I do. Have fun doing whatever it is you're going to go do." I say, looking at the badge. Coulson left to go on his mission, and I decided to go down to the lab to find Simmon's secret stash of candy.  
An hour or so later Fitz, Skye and I all sat in a van, watching the live feed of the takedown of the Clairvoyant. We saw Ward shoot Nash and saw May disarm him. Fitz and Skye were both in shock. We all went back to The Bus.  
Skye went to talk with Ward while Fitz snuck off to talk to Simmons through the "secret" phone line. May was in the cockpit, clearing her head, or at least that's what she told me. I was currently sitting in the lab, just waiting for Fitz to run in and lock the doors. I didn't wait very long, 20 minutes top.  
Poor Fitz, he was so scared. I stood up and went over to Fitz, placing my hand on his shoulder to comfort him. I didn't help much.  
"Put it down, May!" Coulson shouted, his gun aimed at her.  
"It's not what you think, Coulson. It's just an I.C.E.R." May tried.  
"This one isn't," Coulson told her, taking a step closer. "It's real, with real bullets. So you better put yours down and tell me what the hell's going on right now." "I-" "Now!"  
"I can't!" May shouted. Skye came out of the side door, right next to May.  
"You better listen to the man, Agent May," Skye told her, holding her own gun.  
"You have no idea what you're doing." May pleaded.  
"Maybe not. But I know you're not fast enough to take us both." Skye reminds her. May looks at Coulson.  
"Look..." She raised her hands and dropped the gun. "I can explain everything, but not here."  
"Why not here?" Coulson asks. "You have someone to check with first, using that encrypted phone in the cockpit? Who's on the other end of that line, May?"  
"I can't say," May told him.  
"That's okay, I think I know. It makes sense why Deathlok put Blake in critical condition, left you alive and well. Why he led us to the track only to disappear instead of defending his boss. Why would he do that?" Coulson asked her, anger in his voice. "Because that wasn't his boss, was it? Was it?!?"  
"What are you talking about?" May asks, genuinely confused.  
"Stop lying to me!" Coulson shouted. "Who do you answer to?!? Who's the real Clairvoyant?" Suddenly the plane rocks, causing everyone to catch their balance. "What did you do? Where are we going?"  
"I don't know!" May shouted, scared and confused. "I didn't do it, Phil! I don't know what's happening here, I swear!"  
"If you're not doing this," Coulson looked at me and I looked away. "Then who is?


	14. Turn, Turn, Turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit gets real

"Talk. Tell us where you rerouted the plane." Coulson ordered May, not believing that she didn't have anything to do with it.  
"I didn't set this new course. I swear!" May told him.  
"Don't lie to me!" Coulson shouted.  
"Yeah, well, the plane just turned around, for God's sake!" Fitz shouted, still stressed.  
"How's this happening, then?" Skye asks.  
"H.Q. can override automated control of the avionics, take us anywhere they want. Let me check the instrument panel and I'll be able to-" May tries to explain.  
"No way!" Fitz exclaims, walking around the front of the lab.  
"You're not going anywhere until you explain what-"  
"It's not me, Coulson!" May shouts at him.  
"Why did you have an encrypted hard line?" Coulson asks.  
"And try to shoot me when we found it?" Fitz piles on.  
"Let's take a breath, huh?" May begs. Coulson walks closer to her and aims his gun at her head, anger washing over his features.  
"Let's not!" Coulson said. May seemed rattled.  
"It was a dedicated channel-" May started.  
"It was straight to Director Fury," I told them.  
"Director Fury? I haven't been able to get him on the line for weeks." Coulson tells her, not believing.  
"You were reporting to him?" Skye asks.  
"That's all I can tell you," May says.  
"Oh come out with it!" Fitz shouts. I tried to calm him down, but he just wrote me off.  
"She can't!" I shouted, the tension in the plane getting to me. "She's under orders!"  
"What?!?" Fitz asks, looking at me. "Was this an order? Was shooting me in the bloody head an order?!?"  
"Hold on. We're not headed to Fury anymore." Coulson told everyone.  
"I don't know where we're headed. And I can't get Fury on the line because Fitz cut the line!" May shouted.  
"Skye told me to!" Fitz defended.  
"Someone was talking to The Clairvoyant, the real one," Skye told them.  
"You were in the walls, Fitz. Want to explain why you were tampering with the plane's sat cable?" May asked, pushing some of the suspicions onto him.  
"Sure, because that's relevant!" Fitz paced around. "Don't try and turn this around on me!"  
"Fitz," Coulson says, looking at the scientist.  
"I was trying to speak with Simmons at The Hub," Fitz confessed.  
"And you needed an encrypted line?" Coulson asked, confused. "What's so secret that you-"  
"You tell me!" Fitz shouted, done with all the secrets and lies. "Simmons and I know you two," he motions at Skye and Coulson. "have been whispering, keeping things from us, about the drug that saved your life. Simmons is just trying to figure out how the whole thing works!"  
"Fitz, who is she talking to?" May asks, concerned.  
"Fitz, open the door," Coulson commands.  
"No way, not until we sort this out," Fitz says, far away from the door. "I'm not opening anything." I went to open it, but Fitz stopped me.  
"Open the door," Coulson told him. "We can't get anything sorted until you open the damn door!" Coulson shouted. "Skye, get your laptop hooked up to our system. See if you can pull up any S.H.I.E.L.D. communications. I want to know where this plane is headed and why."  
"Coulson-" May tries, taking a step towards him.  
"You stay put!" Coulson shouted at her. Skye walked to the lab doors where Fitz begrudgingly opened the doors for her. "Now, Fitz, I need to know who Simmons is talking to, 'cause if it isn't someone we trust she's in serious danger."  
Half an hour later Skye got into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s system and everyone, minus Ward who was still in the cage, was all in the lab. May was on one end while Fitz was as far away from her as possible. Skye and Coulson were towards the middle, Coulson still had his gun trained on May.  
"It's just noise," Skye spoke up.  
"What do you mean, "noise?" Coulson asked.  
"I mean literally noise, across every S.H.I.E.L.D. communication channel," Skye said, putting it up on the plasma, it sounded like an old dial-up modem.   
"It's some sort of blanket signal," I told them, leaning against a wall.   
"Encoded data, maybe?" Fitz asked.  
"I think so." Skye agreed. Coulson looked at May.  
"You want to fill us in?" Coulson asked her. "We root you out, a mole, suddenly our plane shuts down, our coms jammed."  
"I don't know what's happening. I wish I did. You have to believe me." May said through gritted teeth.  
"No, I don't." Coulson retorts. Suddenly there's a voice through the static, Garrett's voice.  
"Do you read? Do you read 6-1-6?" Garrett called.  
"Where's that coming from?" Fitz asked. Skye quickly got to typing.  
"Close by," Skye said.  
"Enemy aircraft, on my tail. Over." Garrett said.  
"Garrett?" Coulson questioned, unsure.  
"Coulson, I'm under attack. Drones." Garrett says. "Repeat, S.H.I.E.L.D. drones are on my ass. We're not getting along. Do you copy?"  
"Copy," Coulson confirmed. "Garrett, what's happening? We've lost control of our aircraft."  
"Hell if I know." Garrett scoffs. "Tell me you got guns on that thing. I'm coming to you." Coulson looks down at the ground before looking back at May and shooting her in the shoulder. May falls to the ground.  
"Fitz, can you manually wire the guns to weapons control, bypass our system?" Coulson asks.  
"If he has long enough cables he can," I tell Coulson. Fitz looks at me before hurrying off to find the cables. "Skye, Coulson is going to want you to decode the signal. We need to get ahead of this. No more surprises today."  
Fitz enters with the cables and then he and Coulson take May to the cage, leaving me and Skye alone. She was typing furiously on her keyboard, trying her best to decode the signal and get to the bottom of it. Every once in a while she would look up at me and then quickly look down whenever I met her eyes.  
"Skye, I-"  
"Sydney, I know, you couldn't tell us. Just, next time, and we both know there will be a next time, do everyone a favor and walk away." Skye said, picking up her laptop. "We should head to the Command Center."  
"Yeah, we should." I agreed, biting my tongue. I followed her upstairs. Soon the boys and Garrett walked in.  
"It's a simple message repeated. Semantic encoding. I needed to find the mnemonic key. It should only take a minute to decipher." Skye told them.  
"Can I ask the obvious question: What the hell?!?" Garrett shouted.  
"We don't know. We don't even know where our plane is headed." Coulson told him.   
"Oh, I saw your trajectory. You're-"   
"We're headed to The Hub. Same place the drones came out of." I told them, cutting Garrett off. Skye glared at me.  
"Victoria Hand," Coulson said after a moment's silence.  
"Hand? Can't be." Fitz scoffed.  
"Can't be what, now?" Garrett asked, lost.  
"The Clairvoyant," Skye told him. I glanced at Garrett.  
"I thought Ward capped that guy," Garrett said in disbelief.  
"I don't believe the man Ward killed was The Clairvoyant. I think he was unwitting decoy meant to end our investigation." Coulson sighed.  
"That's a lot of trouble to go through for a red herring, don't you think?" Garrett asked.  
"Because The Clairvoyant is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent," Coulson tells him. "Using high-level clearance to stay ahead of us, make it seem like she's got psychic abilities."  
"She?" You think Hand's The Clairvoyant?" Garrett scoffs. Coulson nods. "I don't mean to pee in the punchbowl, but that doesn't make a lot of sense. I was stationed with Vic is Lisbon. She's a hard-ass and a buzzkill at parties, I grant you, but do you really think she's capable of that?"  
"Excuse me, didn't she just try to blow you out of the sky?" Coulson reminded him.  
"Don't get me wrong, she's definitely gone nuts, but her actions prove she's not The Clairvoyant, right? I mean, if she's been hiding in plain sight all this time...why reveal herself now?" Garrett questioned.  
"Guys," Skye says, getting everyone's attention.  
"Out of the shadows, into the light." Coulson reads. Everyone walks closer to the monitor as I sneak out, just like Skye told me to. I went to my bunk. I stood in the middle of my bunk for a couple seconds before I ripped the few drawings on the walls off, tearing them apart, I picked up Robert and threw him against the wall. The nick-nacks on my shelves that I had collected from Tony, they ended up broken on the floor, the glass shattered and tiny mechanisms bent.  
Suddenly the plane started it's decent. I quickly grabbed Bobert and went and found a place to take cover, and just as I find a good spot, the soldiers start firing, bullets whizzing past. After a couple minutes, they stopped firing. I just sat there, not wanting to move, having no sudden rush of adrenaline or feeling of self-preservation. Garrett came and found me hiding behind a kitchen counter.  
"Hey, we gotta go," Garrett said. I just looked up at him, glaring. "What? Something wrong?"  
"No, why would anything be wrong?" I ask, standing up. "Besides, you guys can go on ahead."  
"It seems to me that Vic isn't taking any prisoners so I don't think she'd give you a free pass," Garrett tells me.   
"Your point?" I ask, walking past him to go find everyone else. Garrett follows close behind. We find everyone in the way back, Fitz had the mouse-hole out.  
"What's that?" Garrett asks.  
"It's called the mouse-hole, cuts through anything. He submitted it for testing, but it didn't reach distribution. Yes, top agents always hog the good stuff." I say, making things go faster.  
"Alright, this is where we split up," Coulson told everyone. "Skye and Ward?"  
"Heading to the nerve center," Ward tells him.   
"Disable their systems, most importantly their control of our plane." Coulson orders.  
"Copy that," Skye says, nodding. Her and Ward both go to leave, but Coulson stops them.  
"Remember, these agents are under orders. Use I.C.E.R.s only. We'll find Simmons, get her out." Coulson reminds them, Ward and Skye both then leave.  
"We should go straight to Hand." Garrett starts, causing me to roll my eyes. "Hydra is always talking about getting their heads cut off, right?"  
"Saving Simmons and Triplett, that's our priority," Coulson tells him as we exit The Bus.  
"I agree, and that's how-"  
"How you would get the job done, yes, he knows," I told Garrett, Fitz, and May right behind us. "And yes, he has a plan...I think."  
We all walked through hallways, careful to not make a sound or draw any attention to ourselves, at least until two guards spotted us. Garrett pushed May and Coulson out in front of him, hiding Fitz and me behind.  
"We caught 'em, the slippery bastards. Agent May took one of mine in the arm." Garrett lied. "Softy here wouldn't let her bleed out."  
"Do you need medical assistance?" One of the guards asked. Garrett looked at him and smiled.  
"Just your sidearm," Garrett told him, striking the guard in the face while Fitz and Coulson ICE the other. Fitz rushes to the monitors and gets to work.  
"Okay, come on, Simmons. Where are you?" Fitz mumbles, typing away in search of her. May points at a monitor.  
"There, Agent Hand. Outside the east wing situation room." May told everyone. They all get closer to the monitors and Garrett sees something that catches his eye.  
"This is definitely a situation." Garrett sighs.  
"Is Simmons there? We don't move until we find Simmons." Fitz says, worried.  
"I'll say it again, best bet to save her, use the vents to get above the situation room. Drop down using Fitz's sweet little mouse hole, and put two bullets through Victoria Hand's heart." Garrett suggests.  
"That's an option, sir." Fitz pointed out.  
"Without questioning?" Coulson asked, taken aback.  
"Questioning what?" Garrett scoffed. "Whether she wants to kill us fast or slow?"  
"Last time we did that we shot the wrong man." Coulson reminded him.  
"Because she wanted us to Phil!" Garrett shouted. "This is a battle for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s soul, and we're on the frontlines. History will remember this day."  
"That's right." Coulson agreed. "It's for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s soul. And a murder without consideration is a sure-"  
""Consideration"?!? Consider this: she had one of my men killed with a bomb rigged to his gas pedal. The other two were floating in the hotel pool, and they weren't doin the backstroke." Garrett told him, getting right up into his face.  
"But we can just as easily ICE her," May explains.  
"You don't put someone like her on ice. She had Skye shot in the stomach, in the stomach, because she was curious. Mike Peterson, burned alive and turned into some kind of freak. She tortured you," Garrett looked at Coulson. "using the same machine she used to brainwash that bitch in the flower dress." Coulson's eyes went wide. "And right now she's probably doing the same to Agent Simmons. Oh, I've considered it plenty, my friend."  
"No," Fitz told him. "Simmons will be fine."  
"Just being realistic, kid," Garret told him, turning around.  
"I never mentioned that," Coulson said quietly. I slowly moved over to one of the guards, leaning down and taking out his side-arm.  
"I'm telling you, killing her quick would be a mercy," Garrett said, not having heard Coulson.  
"I never said Raina had been inside the machine," Coulson said, a tad louder than before. "I never told anybody that."  
"I must've read it in a report, then." Garrett tries.  
"You weren't with us," Coulson said, understanding more.  
"The point is, how many more have to suffer before Vic gets hers?" Garrett changes the subject. Coulson doesn't let it stay that way for long.  
"You showed up right after." Coulson took a deep breath.  
"What are you driving at?" Garrett asked?  
"After Skye was shot, Quinn said it was so I would lead The Clairvoyant to the cure. That's exactly what I did." Coulson gasps. "I walked you right in there with me."  
"Phil, look, it's been a rough day. I-I get it. But you need to-"  
"No, he doesn't need to take a second and think about it Garrett," I say. Garret sighs and smiles at Coulson.  
"Damn it," Garrett said. The door bursts open and a swarm of soldiers enter.  
"Freeze! Don't move!" a soldier shouts."Hand's where I can see 'em."  
"Easy fellas." Garrett grins, his hands in the air.  
"Take Agent Garrett into custody. He's the murderer they call The Clairvoyant. He's a traitor." Coulson tells them, hands above his head.  
"Gentlemen, I know Agent Sitwell was in charge of filling your ranks, so at least a few of you know what to do in this situation," Garrett says, looking at them. "Anytime boys." One of the soldiers opens fire and shot the rest, to say Coulson was shocked was an understatement. "Hail Hydra."  
"Hail Hydra." the few remaining soldiers said in perfect unison.  
"Those three men in your unit, I guess they asked the wrong questions," Coulson said, taking a small step back.  
"Until today, it was all about keeping the secret." Garrett shrugs, smiling like a maniac.  
"Are you gonna kill us?" Fitz asked, hurt by his betrayal.  
"That wasn't my plan, really," Garrett confesses, walking closer to them. "If it was, I could've done that at any time I wanted. No, Coulson and I go way back. Back to the days when Nick Fury was teaching us tactics." he smiles at Coulson while pretending to hold a gun. "Clearing corners, slicing the pie. Remember, Phil?"  
"Fury would bury you for this." Coulson spat. Garrett takes a deep breath and nods his head.  
"Probably. Instead, he'll just have to roll over in his grave. He must've uncovered our secret. Top brass did what they had to do. Explains why we've suddenly come "out of the shadows". Not a minor inconvenience, I might add." Garrett gloats.  
"Top brass"?" May asks. I slowly take a step closer to the door, careful to not draw any attention.  
"Oh, my, yes. Tip-top. We had a good thing going, too. Waving the S.H.I.E.L.D. flag as hard as we could. I guess we'll be changing colors now." Garrett sighs.  
"For Hydra? You really believe all that crap, spreading death and destruction?" Coulson asked. Garrett grimaces.  
"I wouldn't say I'm a true believer. Let's just say I felt the wind changing direction and swung sail. You really should, too." Garrett told him.  
"Don't be an idiot," I spoke up, causing Garrett to look at me. "He'd rather die than join Hydra. And yeah, you'd hate to tell him he's been serving Hydra the whole time, yadda yadda yadda, death is the only alternative. You're sad to have to do it, you considered Coulson a friend, yet you had him tortured for three days."  
"You're a firecracker aren't you?" Garrett chuckled. "Besides, I didn't enjoy torturing him, and I'm being honest."  
"No, you're being a psychopath." Coulson hissed. Garrett sighs and walks over to May.  
"I know you'd follow him to the grave, so," Garrett says, walking over to stand in front of Fitz. "As for you, Agent Fitz, you'll hold a very high rank, run our tech division, if you volunteer." Fitz looks at him, tears in his eyes. "If not, you'll have no rank and a lot of pain. Of course, either way," Garrett bows. "Your services will be required."  
"You're gonna suffer for what you've done," Fitz says, sniffling and standing up taller. "And I, I plan on being a very big part of that."  
"I like you, kid," Garrett says, slapping Fitz's shoulder. Garrett turns towards the soldiers. "Alright, let them have it. Except her," Garrett said, pointing at me. "We're gonna need her." He just walks past the soldiers when the whole base shakes, knocking everyone off their balance.   
Coulson grabbed a wrench, hitting Garrett in the face with it while May had gotten the cuffs off and is fighting a solider. Fitz hides under a desk while I come up behind one of the soldiers and knocking him out with the end of the side-arm. May kicks a gun out of one of the men's hands and it lands in front of Fitz. May takes down the last of the soldiers and stops, assessing the situation when one of the soldiers stands back up and aims at May.  
Three shots got fired, all of them hitting the solider in the chest. Fitz drops the gun, horrified at what he just did. Coulson and Garrett are still fighting. Garret gets the upper hand and tries to stab Coulson in the face with his knife. Before Fitz could get Coulson's attention I acted, tackling Garrett to the side and hitting him in the head with my gun. The doors burst open and Hand walks in.  
"Hands up! Drop your weapon! Don't move!" one of her agents ordered.  
"I'm not Hydra," Coulson said, his hands above his head again.  
"We heard...everything," Hand says, looking over at Agent Shaw, who is grabbing a listening device from the wall.  
"Who is? How deep does it go?" Coulson asks, putting his arms down, relaxing.  
"Too many," Hand said, looking down. Her soldiers got Garrett up and then we walked to the Control Room. Hand and Coulson talked while I went and sat down. I was tired and everything hurt. I dozed off.


End file.
